The Matrix 2; The Plot:
Having established that he is "The One", Neo continues his struggle to liberate humankind from the clutches of the evil artificial intelligence known as the Matrix. Spencer Lamm, a producer at the Wachowski Brothers' Redpill Productions, spoke before an audience of Matrix fans at the recent San Diego Comicon. It wasn't long into the discussion before the topic of sequels was broached by those in attendance, and Lamm kindly obliged the crowd by sharing a few nuggets of info including the reason why the Wachowski brothers have chosen to film the movies consecutively a la Back to the Future 2 & 3. "The reason they want to do it back-to-back is that they love serial fiction," Lamm explained. "They love the idea of action drawing you on to [where] the stakes get raised. They're also really conscious of a two-hour frame we all plug in to. We know when certain plot points have to happen in a film because of the genre conventions. They played with the genre conventions ... in The Matrix and they now want to take that a little bit further and play with the whole structure of the story. You can't do that in a two hour story but if you [release the sequels] together you can play with the structure and totally screw with the audience." The next two movies are definitely sequels and not prequels despite some fan confusion on that matter. Prequels remain a possibility in the future, but nothing firm there is set. Clarifying his statement that the movies would be released together, Lamm said, "The plan is to release [the second movie] at the beginning of the Summer and [the third movie] at the end of the Summer. It's going to be an Empire Strikes Back-type cliffhanger -- maybe a little bit more amped because the whole thing is going to rest on the fact that when you see them both it will be a lot bigger bang." It's hard to say which Summer exactly it will be when the movies will arrive in theaters. When asked whether the Matrix sequels would be ready for 2001, Lamm said, "At this point it is just going in to pre-production. Just figure that [word like that] will be dribbling out in the next few months." As far as plot info went, there was little rock solid detail to be had. However, Lamm discussed what he thought would likely show up in the films. Specifically, odds seem to be in favor of moviegoers seeing the much talked about hidden human city in the next films. "I would be shocked if we don't see Zion," Lamm remarked. However, he suggested that we should be highly suspicious of early plot rumors out now, since the Wachowskis are still in negotiations for the project with Warner Bros., and because of that, haven't written the sequel scripts yet. One such rumor not to be trusted claims that Neo will face a man with matrix manipulating abilities similar to his (sort an the Anti-Christ figure to Neo's messiah figure). On the villainous end of things, the bad men in black we saw in the first movie were only the tip of the iceberg. Of Hugo Weaving's character, Lamm speculated, "You get the sense that you've killed him, but did you kill him? Meaning [he] is like [computer language] zeroes and ones, essentially. There's [room] left to explore as to other agents [or] the same agents."

The Matrix 2; The Buzz:
Though it has been rumored before, word has it that Keanu Reeves is on the verge of signing a deal to participate in two sequels to Warner Bros. hit The Matrix that looks to net the actor a truckload of money. According to Variety columnist, Michael Fleming, once he signs, Reeves will be guaranteed $30M plus 15% of the film's gross. Regarding production of the sequels, starting in fall 2000 Larry and Andy Wachowski will begin work on shooting the second and third films back to back, as previously suggested. Fleming reports that the shooting schedule for the films is likely to be in the 250 day range. The columnist also reports that Reeves is in the running to star in a remake of the 1968 romance Sweet September for WB. Should he sign on, Reeves will likely participate in that project first before Matrix 2 and 3 starts up. As yet, Warner Bros. hasn't worked out deals with Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss to reprise their roles from the first film, but this would seem to be imminent due to the signing of Reeves.

The Matrix 2; The Characters:
Keanu Reeves as Neo
Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity (NOW Confirmed)
Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus (unconfirmed)

The Matrix 2; The Crew:
Larry and Andy Wachowski / Directors and Screenwriters
Joel Silver / Producer
Warner Bros. / Distrubtor

The Matrix 2; Production Status:
In development. (YEAH!!!)

The Matrix 2; Release Date:
To Be Decided.

The Matrix 2; News and Rumors:
January 20, 2000:
Mark from Prequelnet.com checked in today with some unconfirmed rumors about the next Matrix movie gathered from the latest issue of Wizard magazine. In his missive Mark reports: "In a recent interview the Wachowski brothers, creators of The Matrix, discussed plans for two sequels to the virtual-reality-based hit. In the sequels, we'll get to see the last human city of Zion, as well as learning more about the reasons why the humans attacked the machines. They also dropped the hint that the first sequel would his theaters in 2002. Producer Joel Silver has made comments that the sequels will allow the Wachowskis to go crazy with the stunts, since Neo ended the first movie with super-human-like abilities."
October 30, 1999:
In a recent interview, producer Joel Silver shed some light on what we can expect in the upcoming second and third chapters of The Matrix saga. In an interview with the SciFi cable channel's SciFi Weekly webpage, the mega-producer revealed information that confirmed previous news reports as well as providing some important plot points, saying, "We're going to make Matrix II and III together. It's a unique situation where...the story does continue. Other sequels I've been involved in, we've had to sit down and figure out a story. But in this movie, the story is continuing. Essentially, the boys [writers/directors the Wachowski brothers] intended to make Matrix because they wanted to find a way to make a superhero movie today where the audience would accept superheroes in a way that wouldn't feel to them like Saturday morning television. And they made the first movie to set up that world. In the sequels, you're going to see that Neo has superhuman powers, and they can really do what they've always wanted to do." In addition, Silver confirmed that audiences will finally see the last stronghold of humanity, Zion, as well as confirming that Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne are signed. He also explained that he expected Carrie-Anne Moss to return, though the deal with her is, as yet, not done.
August 24, 1999:
Though it has been rumored before, word has it that Keanu Reeves is on the verge of signing a deal to participate in two sequels to Warner Bros. hit The Matrix that looks to net the actor a truckload of money. According to Variety columnist, Michael Fleming, once he signs, Reeves will be guaranteed $30M plus 15% of the film's gross. Regarding production of the sequels, starting in fall 2000 Larry and Andy Wachowski will begin work on shooting the second and third films back to back, confirming comments made by producer Spencer Lamm at the San Diego ComicCon International and reported in Saturday, August 14th's Insider. Fleming reports that the shooting schedule for the films is likely to be in the 250 day range. The columnist also reports that Reeves is in the running to star in a remake of the 1968 romance Sweet September for WB. Should he sign on, Reeves will likely participate in that project first before Matrix 2 and 3 starts up. As yet, Warner Bros. hasn't worked out deals with Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss to reprise their roles from the first film, but this would seem to be imminent due to the signing of Reeves.
August 14, 1999:
Spencer Lamm, a producer at the Wachowski Brothers' Redpill Productions, spoke before an audience of Matrix fans at the San Diego Comic Con Friday. It wasn't long into the discussion before the topic of sequels was broached by those in attendance, and Lamm kindly obliged the crowd by sharing a few nuggets of info including the reason why the Wachowski brothers have chosen to film the movies consecutively a la Back to the Future 2 & 3. "The reason they want to do it back-to-back is that they love serial fiction," Lamm explained. "They love the idea of action drawing you on to [where] the stakes get raised. They're also really conscious of a two-hour frame we all plug in to. We know when certain plot points have to happen in a film because of the genre conventions. They played with the genre conventions ... in The Matrix and they now want to take that a little bit further and play with the whole structure of the story. You can't do that in a two hour story but if you [release the sequels] together you can play with the structure and totally screw with the audience." The next two movies are definitely sequels and not prequels despite some fan confusion on that matter. Prequels remain a possibility in the future, but nothing firm there is set. Clarifying his statement that the movies would be released together, Lamm said, "The plan is to release [the second movie] at the beginning of the Summer and [the third movie] at the end of the Summer. It's going to be an Empire Strikes Back-type cliffhanger -- maybe a little bit more amped because the whole thing is going to rest on the fact that when you see them both it will be a lot bigger bang." It's hard to say which Summer exactly it will be when the movies will arrive in theaters. When asked whether the Matrix sequels would be ready for 2001, Lamm said, "At this point it is just going in to pre-production. Just figure that [word like that] will be dribbling out in the next few months." Will the brothers write and direct again? Despite previous reports, it seems that the negotiations for that are still underway. "They're jockeying to get all that down," Lamm said. Additionally, a recent report from an Australian news source indicating that Keanu Reeves signed on to the Matrix sequels for a sum of money rivaling James Cameron's take on Titanic was "false in its details, but in its broad strokes it was probably accurate," according to Lamm. However, the impression was given that it is almost certain that both Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will be back for the next two films. The hope is to use Fox Studios Australia once again for photography, though there's no word whether filming would conflict with Star Wars: Episode Two. George Lucas will be using that popular Sydney production facility for his prequel sequel next year. As far as plot info went, there was little rock solid detail to be had. However, Lamm discussed what he thought would likely show up in the films. Specifically, odds seem to be in favor of moviegoers seeing the much talked about hidden human city in the next films. "I would be shocked if we don't see Zion," Lamm remarked. However, he suggested that we should be highly suspicious of early plot rumors out now, since the Wachowskis are still in negotiations for the project with Warner Bros., and because of that, haven't written the sequel scripts yet. One such rumor not to be trusted claims that Neo will face a man with matrix manipulating abilities similar to his (sort an the Anti-Christ figure to Neo's messiah figure). On the villainous end of things, the bad men in black we saw in the first movie were only the tip of the iceberg. Of Hugo Weaving's character, Lamm speculated, "You get the sense that you've killed him, but did you kill him? Meaning [he] is like [computer language] zeroes and ones, essentially. There's [room] left to explore as to other agents [or] the same agents."
July 23, 1999:
It seems as if in order for Keanu Reeves to return for more Matrix films, there was more than just money and a script to be considered. As major part of his preparation for his role in The Matrix, Keanu Reeves had to go through martial arts training courtesy of Yuen Wo-ping, a Hong Kong director as well as fight choreographer. While talking to the Wall Street Journal, Reeves revealed, "He's the greatest. When you watch Wo-ping's fight scenes, you can see such joy in his work. He's amazing. The whole experience was special, one of the best of my life." Regarding more Matrix films, Reeves reveals, "There's no question that I'd come back for two more." Reeves adds joking, "The real problem is Yuen Wo-ping. Who knows if he'll be too busy by then."
July 20, 1999:
As previously reported in the Insider, plans are afoot to shoot the next two Matrix sequels back-to-back. In addition, rumors have been flying that suggest Keanu Reeves is already signed on with a hefty paycheck. One of the questions yet to be answered is when all this might come about. Now, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is said to be exploring budgets as well as the timing of production on the films. The trade is reporting that Warners is hoping to get production started next year. Furthermore, the trade reports that as yet there is no script for the second film, regardless of plot related rumors floating around.
July 11, 1999:
Keanu Reeves has reportedly reached a deal that will see him jack into The Matrix twice more. Australia's Sunday Telegraph was told by "a prominent industry insider" that the pact amounts to "a bigger deal than James Cameron got for Titanic." Additionally, the paper reports that the Wachowski brothers negotiated for a cut of the film's total box office, and that the sequels will be filmed back-to-back in Sydney once again with sights set on releasing the pictures within months of each other (a la Lord of the Rings). There's little word on possible plot points save that the second movie will likely lead into the third with a cliffhanger.
June 8, 1999:
A number of rumors have been flying around about a sequel to the Wachowski Bros.' The Matrix. While talking to the Calgary Sun, Andy Wachowski revealed that his approach to following up his hit film can be done a number of ways saying, "We could do a prequel and a sequel to this episode, or two prequels or two sequels. The story and characters lend themselves to any number of permutations and combinations." Still, what of Keanu Reeves? Rumors of late suggest that he has been made an offer to return. Reeves revealed to the paper, "I've not seen anything that comes close to being an official offer."
May 27, 1999:
It's rumored that Warner Bros. is offering Keanu Reeves a figure in the $20M range to return for a second Matrix film. According to the UK Popcorn Web site, producer Joel Silver is reported to have also offered Keanu's band Dogstar a spot in the movie's soundtrack.
May 13, 1999:
Yes, plans are underway to create a sequel to the Wachowski Bros.' The Matrix. We've all heard that the brothers planned the Matrix story as a trilogy, but it sounds like Warner Bros. wasn't really thinking that long term for the property. With talks of a sequel starting, the studio is hoping to get Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and possibly Joe Pantoliano to reprise their roles for two more films. The one barrier in place is that neither Reeves or Fishburne were signed for potential sequels. This could get expensive. Speaking of being surprised, Variety also reports that Universal didn't have a sequel agreement with The Mummy star Brendan Fraser either.
April 23, 1999:
Recent reports from the Toronto Sun have suggested that both star Keanu Reeves and the writing-directing Wachowski Brothers aren't interested in a sequel to The Matrix, but producer Joel Silver assures USA Today that The Matrix 2 is still a very real possibility. "The Wachowski brothers believe in serial fiction, in continuing the story," said Silver. "They have more of a story to tell, and they felt that, if the movie was successful, they would entertain the idea of doing more films. I assume that we will continue." The Insider sure hopes that Silver is right.
April 19, 1999:
Despite previous reports that the Wachowski Brothers wrote The Matrix with two sequels in mind, the Toronto Sun reports that the odds we'll ever see a Matrix 2 are slim. The paper suggests that, while Warner Bros. is excited over the idea of a sequel neither the Wachowski Brothers nor star Keanu Reeves are "into it". Bummer, if the report is accurate. I for one hope Warner Bros. pulls out all the stops (not to mention their wallets) to make Matrix 2 happen.
April 15, 1999:
For those of you who have seen The Matrix and can barely wait for a sequel, there's good news for you. The Dark Horizons website is reporting that a comic book version of a potential sequel will be serialized on the official Matrix Web site. The story will be written by the Wachowski Bros. with art by Geoff Darrow (The Big Guy and Rusty the Robot), who storyboarded the film.
April 9, 1999:
Last week, the Insider reported that the Wachowski Bros. had two sequels in mind for The Matrix, though it wasn't realistic to think about it yet. Now, it's time given the success the film has had at the box office in its first week. According to Hollywood Reporter columnist Martin Grove, now producer Joel Silver is saying, "The guys have said to me that the story does continue. They didn't really want to deal with it unless there was a reason to think about it. Well, I think they're going to think about it."
March 31, 1999:
The Matrix is opens today, and it's getting generally good buzz as well as reviews. Still, is it ever too early to think about the future? Not if we're to believe the film's co-producer Dan Cracchiolo who told Hollywood Reporter George Christy that Andy and Larry Wachowski, the film's writer-director team, that "already they have two sequels in mind."

The Matrix 2; Other Info:
July 12, 1999:
Keanu Signs to Matrix 2 & 3

"Whoa, dude!" Keanu Reeves, whose career got a mega-boost from the ultra-cool sci-fi flick The Matrix, has signed on to return for Parts 2 and 3.
Reeves' just-resuscitated career doesn't yet put him in the $20 million salary club, but Australia's Sunday Telegraph reports his deal is "bigger than what James Cameron got for Titanic," indicating a backend deal for films that are sure to top the $100 million mark. The first film has so far racked up $166.8 million in 14 weeks.
Cameron, if you recall, gave up not only his directorial and producing fees on Titanic, but the oh-so-lucrative percentage of the profits — the No. 1 film of all time raked in $600 million domestically. The director, who had given up the fees to offset the pic's skyrocketing budget, eventually got a balloon payment in the neighborhood of $50 million to $100 million.
In another Matrix development, and against all marketing tradition, the two new movies will be piggybacking in theaters. The studio plans to release them within mere months of each other. Fans, expect to spend many waking hours at the multiplex in back-to-back viewings.
The Matrix, a come-from-nowhere smash hit, was always conceived as a trilogy by creators Andy and Larry Wachowski. "We could do a prequel and a sequel to this episode," Andy says, "or two prequels, or two sequels."
The Telegraph reports that the Wachowskis are also expected to receive a percentage of the profits. We're waiting on word on deals for the first film's co-stars Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne.
The movies, whether sequel, prequel, or some other combination, will be titled Matrix 2 and Matrix 3 and will be shot back-to-back, with filming again set for Sydney, Australia. No start date or release date has yet been fixed.