Laurence Fishburne asked to play Morpheus again in ‘The Matrix’ reboot but never heard back

Laurence Fishburne has revealed that he asked to reprise his role as Morpheus in The Matrix 4.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was eventually cast as a different reiteration of the character in the 2021 movie The Matrix Resurrections, but Fishburne claims he was interested in returning.

He told The View: “I offered my services to the fourth Matrix, and they didn’t respond well to that. It’s not like I didn’t say, ‘I’d like to offer my services.’ I did.”

Fishburne added that “for whatever reason,” his casting in the 2021 sequel “didn’t happen.”

After being asked if he’d be interested in being a part of the franchise’s upcoming fifth film, the Oscar nominee said his casting would “depend on the circumstances” surrounding who would be working on the movie.

Laurence Fishburne reveals on 'The View' that he offered to be in the fourth 'Matrix' movie and "they didn't respond well to that." pic.twitter.com/uTKH5agNl5

— The View (@TheView) April 3, 2025

“It depends on who was involved, how well the script has been written,” he said.

His comments come after he previously said he didn’t know why he was not invited to star in The Matrix 4.

Reviewing the movie, NME awarded it four stars and said: “The grand return of the Matrix franchise is about as complex and convoluted as you’d expect.”

Meanwhile, fans recently vowed not to watch the franchise’s forthcoming movie, after it was announced that the fifth instalment would not be directed by creators Lana and Lily Wachowski, despite the fact the former is attached as an executive producer.

The post Laurence Fishburne asked to play Morpheus again in ‘The Matrix’ reboot but never heard back appeared first on NME.