Keanu Reeves, Jada Pinkett Smith and Carrie-Anne Moss are all set to reprise their roles in Lana Wachowski‘s fourth installment in The Matrix franchise, but one familiar face we won’t be seeing in the film is Hugo Weaving. Of course, Weaving memorably played Agent Smith in each of the films that have been released to date, but he won’t be back for part 4.
Speaking with Time Out London, Weaving reveals that Wachowski wanted Agent Smith to be in the film but that scheduling conflicts ultimately changed those plans.
“It’s unfortunate but actually I had this offer [for the play “The Visit”] and then the offer came from The Matrix, so I knew it was happening but I didn’t have dates,” Weaving explained to the outlet. “I thought [I] could do both and it took eight weeks to work out that the dates would work – I held off on accepting [a role in “The Visit”]. I was in touch with Lana Wachowski, but in the end she decided that the dates weren’t going to work. So we’d sorted the dates and then she sort of changed her mind.”
The actor added, “They’re pushing on ahead without me.”
The untitled new film’s cast will also include Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Toby Onwumere, Eréndira Ibarra, Jessica Henwick and Neil Patrick Harris.