Will Smith Isn’t Starring in New ‘Matrix’ Movie, So What Neo-Related Project Is He Teasing?

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Will Smith may be choosing between the red and blue pill, but the Oscar-winning actor isn’t entering The Matrix for a movie.

Warner Bros. previously announced a fifth “Matrix” installment with “The Martian” screenwriter Drew Goddard attached to write and direct, but knowledgable sources confirmed to Variety that Smith (at least at this point) isn’t involved in the film franchise.

Speculation started on Monday after Smith posted a cryptic message on Instagram, recalling his decision to pass on the starring role of Neo (which eventually went to Keanu Reeves) in Lana or Lily Wachowski’s seminal 1999 sci-fi epic “The Matrix.” “In 1997, the Wachowskis offered Will Smith the role of Neo in ‘The Matrix.’ Smith turned it down,” his Instagram video, written in third-person, reads. “He chose ‘Wild Wild West,’ believing it was a better fit for him at the time.

But the question remains: What would ‘The Matrix’ have been like with Will Smith as Neo?” A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith) With Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity at the helm, “The Matrix” ignited a quarter-century-spanning series with three sequels, 2003’s “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions” and 2021’s “The Matrix Resurrections,” and counting.