Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Explains How His Morpheus In ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Works And Admits He Was Confused By It, Too

Shortly after The Matrix Resurrections trailer dropped, and absolutely blew fans’ minds, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II took to Instagram where he confirmed that the character he’s playing is indeed Morpheus, the iconic mentor to Keanu Reeves’ Neo. Of course, this raised some questions considering the role was made famous by Laurence Fishburne who played Morpheus in the original Matrix trilogy, yet has not been shy about the fact that he was not invited back for the fourth movie. (But he’s cool with it.)

Setting aside the possibility that the Fishburne business could be an attempt to obfuscate Resurrections‘ surprises, Abdul-Mateen is opening up about taking on the role of Morpheus, and he readily admits that he was confused about the whole thing would work, too. In fact, he almost passed on the whole thing. However, he was eventually won over by the script, which gives him room to come in and not attempt to imitate his predecessor. Via Entertainment Weekly:

For his part, Abdul-Mateen has nothing but respect for Fishburne’s performance — and had no interest in replicating it. “Laurence already did what had to be done,” he says. “I think what the script provided was a new narrative and some new opportunities that did make room within the Matrix universe for a new Morpheus.”

Obviously, Abdul-Mateen can’t reveal anymore about the part, but he does make it clear that he’s “definitely a different iteration” of Morpheus, which could mean anything in the reality-bending world of The Matrix.

The Matrix Resurrections hits theaters and HBO Max on December 22.