Aquaman‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is going from the deep seas to a post-apocalyptic future ruled by sentient machines. The actor is reportedly in talks to join Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in the next installment of The Matrix franchise.
Best known for playing Black Manta in Aquaman, Abdul-Mateen is reportedly the front-runner for a starring role in The Matrix 4, the still-untitled fourth chapter in the sci-fi film series. According to Variety, director Lana Wachowski met with various actors over the last week, and Abdul-Mateen is in the final stages of negotiation to take on the unidentified role.
There’s been no official word on the role Abdul-Mateen will play in the film, although rumors have indicated that a young version of Laurence Fishburne’s character, Morpheus, could play a role in the story. The character Abdul-Mateen will play is expected to be a leading role alongside Reeves and Moss.
Both Reeves and Moss will reprise their roles as the protagonists Neo and Trinity, respectively, with Wachowski also returning behind the camera as writer and director. Writers Aleksandar Hemon (Love Island) and David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas) penned the script for the film, along with Wachowski.
Along with his role in Aquaman, Abdul-Mateen previously portrayed the character Cadillac in the Netflix series The Get Down and played featured roles in 2017’s Baywatch and The Greatest Showman. He was recently cast as Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale in Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming project The Trial of the Chicago 7 and is attached to star in Jordan Peele’s remake of the horror classic Candyman. He also has a starring role in the upcoming HBO series Watchmen and will appear in season 5 of the acclaimed Netflix anthology series Black Mirror.
There’s been no word on any other franchise cast members who might be joining Reeves and Moss in the film at this point. Collectively, the three films in The Matrix franchise have earned more than $1.6 billion worldwide at the box office, including $592.3 million in U.S. theaters. Cameras are expected to begin rolling on The Matrix 4 at some point in early 2020, with more details will likely to be announced in the near future.
