Laurence Fishburne claims he was snubbed for Matrix sequel

Laurence Fishburne has claimed that his offer to appear in a sequel to The Matrix was snubbed.

The 63-year-old Oscar-nominated star played Morpheus in the iconic 1999 original film – and reprised the role in sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions which were both released in 2003.

A long-awaited sequel, titled The Matrix Resurrections, was released in 2021 with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity – while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played a younger version of Morpheus and Fishburne appeared only briefly via archive footage.

Appearing on The View on Thursday, the legendary star told the panel he had asked filmmakers if he could take part in the fourth film – but said his offer was rejected.

He revealed, “I offered my services to the fourth Matrix and they didn’t respond well to that. So, hey, it’s not like I didn’t say, ‘Oh, I’d like to offer you my services.’ I did. And for whatever reason, that didn’t happen.”

Last year it was revealed that a fifth film in the franchise is in development – with Buffy the Vampire screenwriter Drew Goddard attached to write and direct while original film co-creator Lana Wachowski is to serve as executive producer.

Asked if he would return for the fifth film, Fishburne said, “It depends on the circumstances, who’s involved, how well the script has been written, if they offer me… So, you know, we’ll see.”