Laurence Fishburne isn’t ruling out a return to the world of The Matrix, but he’s not signing on just yet, either.
During a reunion panel at New York Comic Con 2025, the actor addressed whether he would reprise his iconic role as Morpheus in the upcoming fifth installment of the franchise, which is now being developed without the original directors, Lana and Lily Wachowski, at the helm.
“It depends on how good it is, really,” Fishburne told the audience, drawing cheers, per Variety. “If it’s great, then yeah, if it makes sense. I don’t know if it makes sense.”
His comments come after last year’s news that The Martian screenwriter Drew Goddard has been tapped to write and direct a new Matrix film for Warner Bros., marking the franchise’s first major installment not led by the Wachowskis. Lana Wachowski will reportedly serve as an executive producer, but Fishburne hasn’t yet been approached to return.
The hesitation is understandable given his absence from 2021’s The Matrix Resurrections, despite Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss returning. Fishburne revealed during the panel that he actually reached out to Lana Wachowski about joining that film, but was ultimately not invited back.
“I reached out,” Fishburne said. “It just didn’t pan out. I said, ‘Thank you very much,’ and Lana said, ‘Thank you very much, I’ll think about it,’ and that was that.”
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II went on to portray a new version of Morpheus in Resurrections, a move that surprised long-time fans of the series. Fishburne has previously said he was never asked to return and has kept a measured, professional tone whenever discussing the decision.
Fishburne also discussed the enduring cultural influence of The Matrix, more than two decades after its 1999 premiere, during the NYCC panel moderated by Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz.
“There’s no movie that comes after The Matrix that’s a sci-fi action or fantasy movie that’s not been influenced by it,” Fishburne said. “It’s everywhere. It’s so pervasive you almost forget where it came from at this point. Now, people don’t realize, but no Matrix, no MCU. It [just] doesn’t look the same.”