No, Will Smith is not starring in a new Matrix movie

earlier today Will Smith took to Instagram to casually share the news with her nearly 70 million followers. The reel you can see below sums it up the superstar’s infamous career decision in 1997 to choose from The Wild Wild West over The matrix. “What would The matrix were they like Will Smith as Neo?” the post asks, before adding “Wake up Will… The Matrix has you…”

No caption or context – most people already knew Smith had declined The matrixwhich went on to become a genre-defining blockbuster, and I can also laughingly recall how The Wild Wild West as it turned out, the post immediately ignited a fire of Internet speculation.

The most obvious answer would be that Will Smith appears in a new one Matrix film – and such a project is indeed in the works. According to news that broke last yearDrew Goddard (The Martian, Cabin in the Woods) wrote and directed the fifth Matrix film, with series creator Lana Washowski as executive producer. No casting or story details were shared at the time, and that’s still the case — and that includes anything involving Smith.

After his Instagram post went viral, io9 contacted Warner Bros., but the company he owns The matrix– I didn’t know what Smith was talking about. A similar “uh, no” reaction came from Hollywood Reporter film editor Aaron Crouch, who tweeted through his personal X account that “Will Smith is not involved in the new Matrix movie.”

Another deal, Diversitydoubled down on that by actually running an article about Smith’s post under the headline “Will Smith not starring in New Matrix Movie, so what neo-related project is it teasing?” While some on the internet have speculated that it might be related to a Super Bowl ad — the game is on February 9th, so it’s about time to start dropping hints — the release’s theory is that it has something to do with Smith’s game another career: “It seems more likely that his cyberpunk venture will involve music, as Smith has teased that he is preparing to release his first album in 20 years.”

Smith, who won the 2021 Oscar King Richard— an honor forever associated with one of the strangest moments in Oscar telecast history — recently starred in the Bad Guys: Ride or Diehis fourth Bad boys buddy cop movie with Martin Lawrence.

What’s your take on Smith’s Neo reclamation? Do you think there’s new music or something else coming?

Want more io9 news? See when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Warsand Star Trek releases, what’s next for DC Universe on film and televisionand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.