WIRE Buzz: Jada Pinkett Smith eyes Matrix return; Korg rumbles back for Thor: Love and Thunder; more

Actors are jacking into The Matrix left and right. At this rate, they’re going to run out of red pills. Hot on the heels of Neil Patrick Harris and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s casting in the Lana Wachowski-helmed sequel is another returning face to join Neo’s Keanu Reeves and Trinity’s Carrie-Anne Moss: Jada Pinkett Smith.

Deadline reports that the actress is currently being courted to return as Niobe, a role she played in the Matrix sequels Reloaded and Revolutions. While Smith’s more recent film work includes straight actioners like Angel Has Fallen, her Zion-dwelling Niobe wasn’t just a great sci-fi character — she was an all-too-rare opportunity for an actress of color that earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination.

Now the pilot/Chosen One skeptic may be back — and if Abdul-Mateen is truly playing a young Morpheus, perhaps Smith will be back together with her former flame in the present. Aside from that, the skilled fighter’s acclimation to the final film’s uneasy peace is certainly ground worth exploring.

Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell will co-write the film with Wachowski, who will begin production on the long-coming fourth Matrix movie early next year.

Next, fans of Marvel’s most rockin’ hero will be thrilled to know that Korg is returning to Thor: Love and Thunder. The ex-gladiator/rebellion leader (played and voiced by Taika Waititi in the writer/director’s MCU debut Thor: Ragnarok as well as Endgame) will be coming back for more antics with his godly pal.

Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel, Waititi (who is back in the director’s chair for Thor: Love and Thunder) confirmed that the fan-favorite will return. Check it out:

“My character is coming back, Korg,” the multi-hypenate said, even breaking out the Korg to thank the audience. “Thank you. Thank you so much for that reaction.”

Presumably the rock-alien has put down the Fortnite headset and will return alongside his friend Miek to see how Thor, Jane Foster, and Valkyrie share godly duties — and one very special hammer.

But fans will have to wait: Thor: Love and Thunder is a while away, out on Nov. 5, 2021.

Finally, old-school gamers will be thrilled to know that their handheld options are now growing beyond throwback smartphone ports and poorly emulated nostalgia. Thanks to the Analogue Pocket, a device that can play tons of original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges, longtime gamers can relive some of their favorite memories playing games like Pokémon Gold, Metroid Fusion, or even regular old Tetris.

The device is also "a synthesizer and a sequencer," adding even more flexibility to the system's uses. A Nintendo Switch-like Analogue Dock allows players to game through the Pocket on their TVs, using either Bluetooth or USB controllers. Analogue has a history of putting out nostalgic gaming systems that operate with legacy software and their original distribution format, but the Pocket is the first to be mobile-oriented and play games from Nintendo's classic handhelds. The $199 device plans to ship in 2020.