“The Matrix 4” features Keanu Reeves (consummate game stuntman of all time) and Carrie-Anne Moss reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively, as well as Jada Pinkett-Smith as Niobe, Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian, and Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson. They’re joined by a wave of high-profile co-stars including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, Toby Unwumere, Priyanka Chopra, and more.

As the last trailer revealed, the franchise’s main characters no longer remember each other following the events of the original “Matrix” trilogy. Franchise newcomer Abdul-Mateen II is Morpheus, but he’s not Lawrence Fishburne’s version of the character that fans love. “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,” Abdul-Mateen II teased to Entertainment Weekly in October. “I play a character who’s definitely aware of the history of the Matrix [and] the history of Morpheus. This character is on a journey of self-discovery. There’s a lot in our story that’s about growth, defining your own path. Morpheus isn’t exempt from that. This is definitely a different iteration of the character.” The film, written by Wachowski with authors David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, has been in development since 2017. Top-secret filming began February 4, 2020, in San Francisco under the code name “Project Ice Cream,” with filming also taking place in Germany and Chicago. Production was halted on March 16, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but then resumed in August. Filming wrapped in November 2021. The film opens from Warner Bros. in theaters and day-and-date on HBO Max December 22.

— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) December 17, 2021

— Nigel Smith (@nigelmfs) December 17, 2021

Full review to come at @consequence next Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/nXX9sSevb1 — Liz Shannon Miller (@lizlet) December 17, 2021

— Dimitri Kraus (@simplykraus) December 16, 2021

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) December 17, 2021

— Chris Evangelista (@cevangelista413) December 17, 2021

— Scott Wampler™ (@ScottWamplerBMD) December 17, 2021

Franchise rankings: The Matrix Reloaded Resurrections Revolutions All this needed to do was be better than the last one. Mission accomplished? #Matrix #Oscars pic.twitter.com/fj6UwiAxhO — Clayton Davis (@ByClaytonDavis) December 17, 2021

— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) December 17, 2021

— Nick Newman (@Nick_Newman) December 17, 2021

— Esther Zuckerman (@ezwrites) December 17, 2021

— Aaron Stewart-Ahn (@somebadideas) December 17, 2021

I lovvvvvvved it. A lotta people are gonna haaaaaaaate. My favorite kind of movie!! — Emily VanDerWerff (@emilyvdw) December 17, 2021

— Matt Patches (@misterpatches) December 17, 2021

— Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle) December 17, 2021

— Jeff Nelson (@SirJeffNelson) December 17, 2021

— Alison Foreman (@alfaforeman) December 17, 2021

— Scott Mendelson (@ScottMendelson) December 17, 2021

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) December 17, 2021 Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.