Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is well and truly having a moment right now. After making a splash as Black Manta in Aquaman and starring in the latest season of Black Mirror, he’s about to reach even greater heights – having just played (REDACTED) in Watchmen, leading the Jordan Peele-produced Candyman reboot, and taking on a major role in the upcomingMatrixsequel, rumoured to be some kind of incarnation of Laurence Fishburne’s iconic Morpheus.
In the upcoming The Mandalorianissue ofEmpire, we caught up with the man himself on his rapid ascent to one of the busiest names in the business – and while he wouldn’t speak on those Morpheus rumours, he did hint at taking on all kinds of reality-bending stunts when plugging into The Matrix 4. "It’s The Matrix, man! It would be a shame if I don’t have a chance to kick ass, get my ass kicked, dodge bullets and do some cool shit," he says. "I’ve seen the [original] film so many times. You know, I can be an actor and also step back and just be a real fan of the things I’m working on. I’m really excited."
The surprise four-quel is in early production, but remains tightly under wraps for now. What we do know is that Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lambert Wilson are returning, with the likes of Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, and Priyanka Chopra among the incoming stars. The film is directed and co-written by Lana Wachowski, this time working without sister Lilly, with Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell also among the co-writers. We’ll find out exactly what kind of mind-blowing digital reality story they have in store when the film arrives in May 2021.