Bet you didn’t see this one coming.
Neil Patrick Harris, star of Doogie Howser, M.D. and How I Met Your Mother has been cast in Lana Wachowski’s upcoming Matrix sequel, Variety reports.
Harris’ role in the fourth Matrix film, which will feature the return of Keanu Reeves as the series’ hero, Neo, is currently unknown. Harris joins Carrie-Anne Moss, who will once again play Matrix femme fatale Trinity, and Aquaman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen in the movie.
While Harris is mostly known for his comedic performances, which include the previously mentioned sitcoms, a villainous turn in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the titular role in Joss Whedon’s web series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, he has showed a more serious side lately via parts like an appearance in 2014’s Gone Girl and a Tony-winning performance in the Broadway version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
The Matrix 4 was announced last August, just in time for the 20th anniversary of the Wachowskis’ groundbreaking sci-fi action film. The fourth installment in the series will be written and directed by Lana Wachowski, who co-directed the original Matrix trilogy with her sister Lily, off of a script by Aleksandar Hemon and the Wachowski’s Cloud Atlas collaborator David Mitchell.
The Matrix 4 doesn’t have a release date, although the film is expected to enter production in early 2020.
News about a potential Matrix sequel leaked last spring, when John Wick director Chad Stahelski said the Wachowskis were working on a follow-up to their flagship franchise. Stahelski was Keanu Reeves’ stunt double on The Matrix, and served as stunt coordinator for the second and third films.
Collectively, the first three Matrix movies have earned more than $1.6 billion at the global box office and spawned numerous video games, comic books, and animated spinoffs. The last Matrix movie, The Matrix: Revelations, hit theaters in 2003. More recently, the first movie returned to theaters this summer in a stunning Dolby Cinema re-release that made the 20-year-old film look better than ever.
Warner Bros. and Lana Wachowski haven’t revealed anything about The Matrix 4‘s plot, but we have some things we’d like to see in the upcoming sequel. Warner Bros., if you’re listening: You know where to find us.
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