Rumor: Keanu Reeves Says Fourth and Fifth Matrix Movies in the Works, in 3D. Update: No.

As the above xkcd strip wistfully points out, in the space of six short months in 2003, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions managed to accomplish the difficult feat of burning all of the goodwill and fan excitement elicited by the original Matrix. So is Ain’t It Cool News’ reader report that Keanu Reeves and the Wachowski siblings are collaborating on a fourth and fifth Matrix movie, possibly in 3D, a chance to right old wrongs, or the reopening of an old trauma?

Update: So this somewhat dicey-seeming story is in fact bogus. The Playlist: “We reached out to reps for the actor and were told that ‘none of it is true…he did not speak nor get an award from the from the London International School Performing Arts.’ So, chalk this one up to a fan hoax and nothing more.”

First: The report, which comes from an AICN reader who claims to have seen Keanu speaking at an event at “the London school of performing Arts university,” is far from bulletproof. As Rich Johnston points out, the venue itself could be either “The London International School of Performing Arts or the The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, or maybe even The BRIT School For Performing Art And Technology”; the murkiness with regards to location calls the rest of the reader account into question.

With that disclaimer in place, here’s the heart of the report:

Says he met the Wachowski’s (no emphasis on the word brothers), for lunch over Christmas and stated that they had completed work on a two picture script treatment that would see him return to the world of the matrix as Neo. Says the brothers have met with Jim Cameron to discuss the pro’s and con’s of 3D and are looking to deliver something which has never been seen again. keanu stated that he still has an obligation to the fans to deliver a movie worthy of the title “The Matrix” and he swears this time that the treatment will truly revolutionise the action genre like the first movie. Wachowski’s are working on a movie called “Cloud Atlas” at the moment, once that concludes they will talk again.

To state the obvious: Two good new Matrix sequels, in 3D or not, could bring a lot of joy and closure to fans of the original movie who felt let down by the 2003 sequels; two bad new Matrix sequels would make a lot of fans rage. While some aspects of the quoted account are sketchy, Hollywood’s willingness to bankroll more Matrix a decade later seems entirely plausible. Say what you will about Reloaded and Revolutions, but they both made obscene boatloads of money.

(AICN via Slashdot. title pic via xkcd)