New photos from Berlin show Keanu Reeves has shaved off his trademark beard and long hair in a return to Neo's real world look for The Matrix 4. Reeves is currently reprising the role of Neo in the long-awaited fourth movie in the sci-fi action franchise, alongside fellow Matrix alums Carrie-Ann Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith, as well as series newcomers Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris and Jonathan Groff. The original movie revolutionized sci-fi action movies, and the sequels, while disappointing in comparison, were still box office smash hits.

Original director Lana Wachowski, helming without sister Lily for the first time, is currently shooting the fourth film in Germany. Almost nothing is known about the plot, though speculation is rife that Mateen and Henwick are playing new freedom fighters who are released from the Matrix by Reeves and Moss' Neo and Trinity respectively. What is known is that the movie will drop in theaters in December 2021, recently moving up four months from its coronavirus-enforced release date of April 2022. Early set videos and photos from the US portion of the shoot, completed before the pandemic, showed Reeves in character with the long hair and beard he's become known for recently, but the latest photo from Berlin reveals something different.

In new photos from People, Reeves is seen saying goodbye to his girlfriend Alexandra Grant outside his Berlin hotel, and he's sporting a buzzcut and clean-shaven face. The look will be familiar to fans of The Matrix, with Neo featuring the look whenever he is in the real world. The photo, which can be seen at the link below, is the first solid indication yet that the movie will take place both in the real world and in The Matrix, and confirms that Neo's look in the Matrix is more in line with Reeves' current real life image.

The photos are also confirmation that despite many suspected changes for this fourth movie, including the lack of original franchise character Morpheus, some things will be the same. With Reeves sporting a buzzcut, there will likely be scenes set in the real world, hinting that the free humans are still battling the machines all these years later. There are theories floating around that in The Matrix 4 Neo and Trinity are agents of the machines and, while that may well turn out to be the case, this photo would seem to disprove that.

Of course, the buzzcut could also be used as part of another plot point in the movie, with Wachowski perhaps calling back to the original while subverting fan expectations. It's tough to know at this point, given that so little is known about the movie, besides hints from the cast that it could be as revolutionary as the first one was. For now, it's all speculation as filming on The Matrix 4 is still underway, though hopefully more info, and perhaps official photos or footage, will be released in early 2021.

The Matrix 4 (2021)
Release Date: Dec 22, 2021