Hugo Weaving reveals that Agent Smith was originally supposed to return for The Matrix 4. Weaving first played the menacing and villainous Smith in the initial Matrix film in 1999, then reprised the role in the sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

An AI tasked with removing unstable human simulcra from the Matrix, Smith ultimately becomes God-like as he makes endless copies of himself and takes on the same powers as the story’s hero Neo. As played by Weaving, the emotionless Smith became an iconic villain, and indeed fans were looking forward to hopefully seeing him again in the upcoming fourth film in the sci-fi series, despite his being destroyed along with Neo at the end of the third film. But though Keanu Reeves is indeed back for The Matrix 4 as Neo (somehow), Smith unfortunately is not part of the film.

In a recent interview with Coming Soon, Weaving talked about his involvement with the fourth Matrix film and reveals that he did come close to returning but ultimately was not able to make things work schedule-wise. Weaving says he was contacted by writer-director Lana Wachowski early on, and even got as far as doing a reading alongside Reeves and other actors. Though he admits he had issues with the script, Weaving says he entered negotiations to appear in the film and was trying to work out scheduling conflicts with his work for the National Theater in London but says Wachowski herself finally elected to move on:


Of course, like a lot of other projects, The Matrix 4 was hit by coronavirus-related delays, which created even more issues with actor availability. It definitely sounds like Weaving was keen to put on Agent Smith’s shades and suit one more time, but there were too many moving pieces for the production to deal with, and it was finally decided that it was better for everyone involved to move on.

While fans may be disappointed that Weaving won’t be back as the iconic Smith, it might actually turn out better for the movie to have a different actor playing the villain and bringing something fresh to the mix. It has not yet been revealed who actually plays the main villain of the new movie, but there’s been speculation that Jonathan Groff could in fact be the man doing the Smith-type role for The Matrix 4. The idea of Groff as the new Smith in fact gains credence thanks to Weaving’s revelations, which certainly indicate that Smith was/is a major part of Wachowski’s script. It’s entirely possible that, because of questions about Weaving’s availability, the Smith role was given to another actor and that actor is Groff, who is definitely capable of projecting a cold and creepy vibe similar to Weaving's.

It remains to be seen what The Matrix 4 has in store for fans when it comes to bringing new wrinkles to the Matrix universe, but there’s no question the film would benefit from some fresh ideas and new faces, as simply rehashing the original movies would serve no purpose whatsoever beyond nostalgia. Given that it took Wachowski so many years to revisit the property, it seems there must be some compelling reason for her to do the new movie besides just making cash.

The Matrix 4 (2022)
Release Date: Apr 01, 2022