Jessica Henwick Turned Down MCU Role In ‘Shang-Chi’ To Join ‘The Matrix Resurrections’

British actress Jessica Henwick has been sort of a go-to genre actress for ages with roles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Marvel’s Iron Fist series as Colleen Wing, Rian Johnson’s sequel to Knives Out, and sadly had her scenes deleted in Legendary’s Godzilla vs. Kong.

Henwick’s next big role is playing the new character Bugs in Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections sharing screentime with Keanu Reeves’ Neo and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s new incarnation of Morpheus (previously played by Laurence Fishburne).

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the actress revealed some tough choices were made during the casting of the fourth Matrix film and had to turn down a huge opportunity, a chance to officially join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Henwick had her own leap of faith to take. Best known for playing Nymeria Sand on Game of Thrones and Colleen Wing on Iron Fist, she was up for a role in Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at the same time she was up for the role of Bugs.

She could audition for a potential role in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings, but wouldn’t be allowed to pursue both parts with The Matrix sequel winning out.

Both Disney and Warner Bros. knew about the other offer and gave her an ultimatum: She could audition for their movie only if she forfeited the competing project. Neither role was guaranteed. “It was a red-pill/blue-pill moment for me,” she says.

This would mean that Marvel Studios didn’t have plans to resurrect the Iron Fist series or her character if they were looking to give her a new part in the MCU. It’s unclear what role she would have auditioned for in Shang-Chi. Also, continues the stance that the Marvel/Netflix shows are not part of the MCU canon.

The Matrix Resurrections debuts on HBO Max and theaters next month.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Rian Johnson Says ‘Knives Out 2’ Has Officially Wrapped Production

Rian Johnson has taken to Twitter to announce that his Knives Out sequel, referred to as Knives Out 2, has wrapped principal photography.

“We just wrapped production on the next Benoit Blanc mystery and also I finally watched Annette and holy shit it’s amazing. Sending so much love and gratitude to our INCREDIBLE crew and cast and Leos Carax!”

The impressive cast of Knives Out 2 already consists of Daniel Craig (No Time To Die), Dave Bautista (Blade Runner 2049, Spectre, Guardians of The Galaxy, Army of The Dead), Edward Norton (Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk, Rounders, Moonrise Kingdom), Janelle Monae (Moonlight, Hidden Figures), Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision), Jessica Henwick (The Matrix Resurrections, Iron Fist, Game of Thrones), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), Ethan Hawke (Moon Knight, The Magnificent Seven), Madelyn Cline, and Leslie Odom Jr. (Murder On The Orient Express, One Night In Miami).

Craig returns as the comedic Southern detective Benoit Blanc as it seems like a group of Americans are the target of a new murder mystery in Greece, I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if it involves another bunch of rich/entitled characters if the set photos are anything to go by.

When the Knives Out sequels were first announced they made headlines because when Netflix closed a massive deal with Johnson and Craig worth a massive $400 million to secure the next two installments.

It’s unclear when they’ll start shooting Knives Out 3 or if Johnson has even begun writing the film’s script.

We likely won’t know for a while when Netflix will release the film as they don’t really dish on release dates too early or just after a project completes filming.

KNIVES OUT – The circumstances surrounding the death of crime novelist Harlan Thrombey are mysterious, but there’s one thing that renowned Detective Benoit Blanc knows for sure — everyone in the wildly dysfunctional Thrombey family is a suspect. Now, Blanc must sift through a web of lies and red herrings to uncover the truth.

SOURCE: RIAN JOHNSON

TRAILER: ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Brings Neo Out Of Digital Hibernation For A New Adventure

Lana Wachowski is back to bring us a fourth Matrix film with The Matrix Resurrections and we’ll see the return of Keanu Reeves’ Neo alongside some other familiar faces and new ones as well.

Warner Bros. has dropped the first trailer for the new film after giving us some teases of footage on the film’s website, which is a neat marketing tool that really hasn’t been used with a mainstream movie in a very long time. I can’t really remember the last time people were actually drawn to a film’s website for marketing purposes outside of things like The Dark Knight.

There is a strong indication this is the first installment of a new Matrix trilogy.

From visionary filmmaker Lana Wachowski comes “The Matrix Resurrections,” the long-awaited fourth film in the groundbreaking franchise that redefined a genre. The new film reunites original stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in the iconic roles they made famous, Neo and Trinity.

The film also stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (the “Aquaman” franchise) Jessica Henwick (TV’s “Iron Fist,” “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens”), Jonathan Groff (“Hamilton,” TV’s “Mindhunter”), Neil Patrick Harris (“Gone Girl”), Priyanka Chopra Jonas (TV’s “Quantico,”), Christina Ricci (TV’s “Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story,” “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles”), Telma Hopkins (TV’s “Dead to Me,”), Eréndira Ibarra (series “Sense8,” “Ingobernable”), Toby Onwumere (TV’s “Empire”), Max Riemelt (series “Sense8”), Brian J. Smith (series “Sense8,” “Treadstone”), and Jada Pinkett Smith (“Angel Has Fallen,” TV’s “Gotham”).

Lana Wachowski directed from a screenplay by Wachowski & David Mitchell & Aleksander Hemon, based on characters created by The Wachowskis. The film was produced by Grant Hill, James McTeigue and Lana Wachowski. The executive producers were Garrett Grant, Terry Needham, Michael Salven, Jesse Ehrman and Bruce Berman. Wachowski’s creative team behind the scenes included “Sense8” collaborators: directors of photography Daniele Massaccesi and John Toll, production designers Hugh Bateup and Peter Walpole, editor Joseph Jett Sally, costume designer Lindsay Pugh, visual effects supervisor Dan Glass, and composers Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents, In Association with Village Roadshow Pictures, In Association with Venus Castina Productions, “The Matrix Resurrections.” The film will be distributed by worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures. It will be in theaters nationwide and on HBO Max via the Ad-Free plan on December 22, 2021; it will be available on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

First Looks From ‘The Matrix: Resurrections’ With Trailer Officially Dropping On Thursday

The Matrix: Resurrections is about to give Matrix fans a massive thrill as Warner Bros. has announced the first trailer on Thursday, the film’s official Twitter account confirmed this and we even have some teases of that trailer. You can watch the snippets of teaser footage on the reactivated Matrix website here.

Lana Wachowksi returns to direct a cast that consists of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jessica Henwick, Daniel Bernhardt, Priyanka Chopra, Ibarra, Neil Patrick Harris, Toby Onwumere, Brian J. Smith, Eréndira Ibarra, Andrew Caldwell, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Christina Ricci, and Ellen Hollman.

The new footage shows Jessica Henwick’s character, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as his Morpheus-like role, a Sentinel in the real world, Neo back in the dojo training program, Neo and Trinity together, and we see Keanu Reeves as Neo getting ready to fight a crowd of people along with stopping multiple machine guns at close range.

There is an expectation this latest installment could be the start of a second Matrix trilogy, but has yet to be officially announced by the studio or Lana Wachowski.

The Matrix: Resurrections still has a release date of December 22.

THE MATRIX – Neo (Keanu Reeves) believes that Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), an elusive figure considered to be the most dangerous man alive, can answer his question — What is the Matrix? Neo is contacted by Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), a beautiful stranger who leads him into an underworld where he meets Morpheus. They fight a brutal battle for their lives against a cadre of viciously intelligent secret agents. It is a truth that could cost Neo something more precious than his life.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

‘Matrix 4’ Officially Titled ‘The Matrix: Resurrections’ & New Details Revealed From CinemaCon Footage

Warner Bros. has officially announced yesterday that Matrix 4 is indeed titled The Matrix: Resurrections, they also revealed footage during the studio’s presentation at CinemaCon.

Lana Wachowksi returns to direct a cast that consists of Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jessica Henwick, Daniel Bernhardt, Priyanka Chopra, Ibarra, Neil Patrick Harris, Toby Onwumere, Brian J. Smith, Eréndira Ibarra, Andrew Caldwell, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Christina Ricci, and Ellen Hollman.

CinemaCon footage was described by The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Couch, revealing that both Neo and Trinity have no memory of the previous events. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is indeed playing that “Morpheus” figure and that Neil Patrick Harris is playing Thomas Anderson’s (Neo’s identity within the Matrix) therapist. Neo is taking two blue pills a day, potentially to keep his memories/powers suppressed.

“Neo Takes two blue pills a day, prescribed by his doctor Finally he meets a man dressed like Morpheus, who offers him a red pill. Neo seems to have a few new powers from the last time (controls a missile through telekanesis).”

It was previously reported that Jessica Henwick’s character is supposed to be the new Neo/The One, but I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer about getting that confirmed. We likely won’t have to wait too long before Warner Bros. starts to kick off the marketing campaign and sharing a public trailer.

The Matrix: Resurrections still has a release date of December 22.

THE MATRIX – Neo (Keanu Reeves) believes that Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), an elusive figure considered to be the most dangerous man alive, can answer his question — What is the Matrix? Neo is contacted by Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), a beautiful stranger who leads him into an underworld where he meets Morpheus. They fight a brutal battle for their lives against a cadre of viciously intelligent secret agents. It is a truth that could cost Neo something more precious than his life.

SOURCE: CINEMACON VIA THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

‘Blade Runner: Black Lotus’ Anime Series Taps ‘Matrix 4’s Jessica Henwick, ‘The Wolverine’s Will Yun Lee & More For Voice Cast

Alcon Entertainment and Crunchyroll had teamed together for an anime series that takes place within the cyberpunk universe of Blade Runner. The dystopian alternative future where man has created a disposable workforce with Replicants, artificial humanoids that are mainly used as slave labor, sex workers, and soldiers on the off-world colonies with a limited lifespan.

The show called Blade Runner: Black Lotus has seasoned Japanese directors Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed) and Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) working on all 13 episodes with Shinichiro Watanabe (The Animatrix, Blade Runner Black Out 2022, Cowboy Bebop) set as a creative producer.

Deadline now says the English and Japanese voice cast will consist of Jessica Henwick, Arisa Shida, Will Yun Lee, Shinshu Fuji, Samira Wiley, Takako Honda, Brian Cox, Wes Bentley, Josh Duhamel, Taiten Kusunoki, Peyton List, Yoshiko Sakakibara, Stephen Root, Hochu Otsuka, Barkhad Abdi, Takayuki Kinba, Gregg Henry, Masane Tsukayama, Henry Czerny, Akio Nojima, Jason Spisak and Kazuki Yao.

Here is a rundown of who they’ll be playing.

Henwick/Shida voice Elle, a female replicant created for a secret and unknown purpose. Lee/Fuji voice Joseph, a mysterious figure who owns a spare parts junkyard in Los Angeles. Wiley/Hona voice Alani Davis, a fresh LAPD recruit. Cox/Hashi voice Niander Wallace Sr, founder and CEO of the Wallace Corporation. Bentley/Koyasu voice Niander Wallace Jr, brilliant scientist working for his father. Duhamel/Kusunoki voice Marlowe, a deadly Blade Runner. List/Sakakibara voice Josephine Grant, the wife of the police chief. Root/Otsuka voice Earl Grant, Police Chief of the LAPD. Abdi/Kinba voice Doc Badger, a black market dealer. Henry/Tsukayama voice Senator Bannister, a politician with strong feelings on replicant production. Spisak/Yao voice Hooper, a journalist in the pocket of the Wallace Corporation.

While Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve has teased a Blade Runner 3, there aren’t any concrete plans for a third feature film despite how well-received the last installment was.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘Knives Out 2’: Rian Johnson Adds ‘Matrix 4’ Actress Jessica Henwick

Director Rian Johnson has reportedly added a Star Wars actor to his Knives Out sequel.

The impressive cast of Knives Out 2 already consists of Daniel Craig (No Time To Die), Dave Bautista (Blade Runner 2049, Spectre, Guardians of The Galaxy, Army of The Dead), Edward Norton (Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk, Rounders, Moonrise Kingdom), Janelle Monae (Moonlight, Hidden Figures), Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), Madelyn Cline, and Leslie Odom Jr. (Murder On The Orient Express, One Night In Miami).

Deadline is reporting that actress Jessica Henwick has landed a role ahead of the sequel starting production. Her credits include The Matrix 4, Game of Thrones, Iron Fist, and had her scenes from Godzilla vs. Kong removed from the final cut. Both Daniel Craig and Henwick appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Filming begins this month in Greece, suggesting the murder mystery could involve a hotel or cruise ship given the overwhelming amount of American actors on the call-sheet and the European setting. Daniel Craig returns to play detective Benoit Blanc, and will return for a third film that will shoot at a later date.

The Knives Out sequels made headlines when Netflix closed a massive deal with Johnson and Craig worth a massive $400 million to secure the next two installments.

The Ronin previous confirmed that Johnson will reunite with his longtime cinematographer Steve Yedlin.

KNIVES OUT – The circumstances surrounding the death of crime novelist Harlan Thrombey are mysterious, but there’s one thing that renowned Detective Benoit Blanc knows for sure — everyone in the wildly dysfunctional Thrombey family is a suspect. Now, Blanc must sift through a web of lies and red herrings to uncover the truth.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘The Gray Man’: Russo Brothers May Begin Shooting End of January In Long Beach – Spy Flick Adding ‘Captain America: Civil War’ & ‘F9’ Stunt Coordinator

A new report from Deadline is suggest that the California production start on Netflix’s $200+ million budgeted spy flick The Gray Man from Avengers: Endgame directors The Russo Brothers might be seeing a production delay pushing the film’s start into early February or late January from it’s original planned start in mid-January due to positive COVID-19 tests. Netflix is hoping the expensive project could become a franchise on the level of James Bond.

The script was penned by the Russos with help from Marvel Studios alumni Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

The Gray Man is the debut novel by Mark Greaney, published in 2009 by Jove Books. It also is the first novel to feature the Gray Man, freelance assassin and former CIA operative Court Gentry. The action thriller will follow Gentry (Gosling) as he’s hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Evans), a former cohort at the CIA. The film is based on the first installment of the best-selling Gray Man book series.

It’s impressive cast already consists of Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys, Drive, Blade Runner 2049), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, Avengers franchise, Captain America franchise), Ana de Armas (No Time To Die, Knives Out, Blade Runner 2049), Jessica Henwick (The Matrix 4, Godzilla vs Kong, Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Wagner Moura (Narcos, Elysium), Dhanush, and young actress Julia Butters (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood).

The Ronin has also learned that 2nd unit director and veteran stunt coordinator Spiro Razatos is expected to join the spy movie’s production team. Razatos’ extensive credits include The Expendables, Fast Five, X-Men: First Class, Fast & Furious 6, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Furious 7, Captain America: Civil War, Kong: Skull Island, The Fate of The Furious, Venom, 21 Bridges, Bad Boys For Life, and F9.

The Russo Brothers are busy bees as they’ve wrapped on their Tom Holland (Spider-Man 3) crime drama Cherry and are already lining up their next film The Electric State for Universal Pictures starring Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things, Godzilla vs Kong). They’ve also been developing a live-action feature film based on the anime series Battle of The Planets and have considered returning to Marvel Studios to direct an event film such as Secret Wars.

A release date for The Gray Man has yet to be set by Netflix.

‘The Gray Man’: ‘Matrix 4’ Actress Jessica Henwick & Others Join Massive Spy Flick Directed By The Russo Brothers

Hot off making The Matrix 4 in Germany, actress Jessica Henwick has landed a role in The Gray Man, a massive $200+ million budgeted spy action film directed by The Russo Brothers for Netflix.

The news coming from Deadline, who also mention that Wagner Moura (Narcos, Elysium), Dhanush, and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood breakout Julia Butters will be joining the cast as well. The high-profile project already has actors such as Ryan Gosling (Drive, Blade Runner 2049), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Ana de Armas (Knives Out, No Time To Die) locked-in for lead roles.

Henwick is no stranger to genre projects with credit that include Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Game of Thrones, Marvel’s Iron Fist, Godzilla vs Kong, and 20th Century’s recent sci-fi horror flick Underwater. Jessica recently revealed while working alongside Keanu Reeves for the new Matrix film that she has been lobbying to join the John Wick franchise as Jessica Wick.

It’s script was penned by The Russo Brothers with a polish by fellow Marvel alumni Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

The Gray Man is the debut novel by Mark Greaney, published in 2009 by Jove Books. It also is the first novel to feature the Gray Man, freelance assassin and former CIA operative Court Gentry. The action thriller will follow Gentry (Gosling) as he’s hunted across the globe by Lloyd Hansen (Evans), a former cohort at the CIA. The film is based on the first installment of the best-selling Gray Man book series.

The Russo Brothers are coming off massive success with Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest-grossing film to ever be released and will follow it up next year with their heist drama Cherry starring Spider-Man 3 actor Tom Holland.

Filming was said to begin next month in Los Angeles, we’ll see if that sticks.

The Gray Man is reportedly the most expensive feature film made by Netflix.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Jessica Henwick Has Been Pitching “Jess Wick” For ‘John Wick 4’ To Keanu Reeves On ‘Matrix 4’ Set

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote her film Love & Monsters, Matrix 4 actress Jessica Henwick (Game of Thrones, Iron Fist, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Godzilla vs Kong) revealed she has been pitching to co-star Keanu Reeves on the idea of playing “Jess Wick” at the very end of John Wick: Chapter 4. She states that John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski is coming to the Matrix 4 set in two weeks and plans on giving him the pitch as well.

HENWICK: “So I pitch Jess Wick to Keanu all the time. I’m probably driving him crazy. I was like, ‘Okay, Keanu, listen to me. Boom. John Wick 4, last 5 minutes, credits roll, post-credit sequence. Boom! You see my face, Jess Wick.’ I just started acting it out and then he started acting it out, too. We put on this little ten-minute show of what Jess Wick and John Wick would be like. Chad Stahelski, the director of all the John Wick movies, is flying out in two weeks, I think. So I’m going to go straight up to him and I’m going to say it.”

Henwick is said to be playing a Neo-type character in the Matrix sequel and we’ve seen Chad court actors that have previously worked with Keanu in the past. It might be in their interest to add someone like Jessica with stunt/actor experience for what new roles they want to include if it’s Jess Wick or not.

Once Matrix 4 is completed there is an expectation that John Wick: Chapter 4 and John Wick: Chapter 5 will be shot back-to-back with franchise creator Derek Kolstad suggesting that Chapter 5 could be the final film in the John Wick Saga.

We know that a female-focused spinoff that is in the works at Lionsgate titled Ballerina with Underworld director Len Wiseman attached and there is a good shot that actress might appear in the next two John Wick films to help bridge their connections to the same cinematic universe.

Matrix 4 is set to be released on December 22nd, 2021 and John Wick: Chapter 4 is expected to be out on May 27th, 2022.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER