“Thank you very much”: Keanu Reeves Seemingly Sneers At Will Smith After He Rejected The Matrix For A Box Office Flop

The Matrix franchise is regarded as the best sci-fi tech franchise ever made in Hollywood. Marking its inception in 1999, The Matrix stood out for its distinct genre-specific effects, including the famous “bullet time” slow-motion fight sequences, blending traditional kung fu with wire-assisted acrobatics, which created an utterly stunning cinematic experience. Keanu Reeves’s Neo was his breakthrough, which garnered him worldwide recognition. However, Reeves wasn’t the first choice for the role; it was Will Smith who was initially approved.

Wachowski’s innovative pitch left Will Smith puzzled

The iconic Neo helped Keanu Reeves solidify his status in Hollywood. He reprised the role in the subsequent sequels of the franchise, including 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Matrix Resurrections in 2021.  But initially, the Wachowskis approached Will Smith to take up the role, which he famously turned down. Smith once revealed on his YouTube channel why he refused the Matrix role, which eventually went to Keanu Reeves.

In the video, Smith recalled the beginning process of the movie, where the Wachowskis once approached him and shared their directing technique with him. “So after we made Men in Black, the Wachowskis came in and they had only done one movie. I think that movie was called Bound. And they came in and made a pitch for The Matrix”. Even though the actor acknowledged their idea, he was left baffled by their pitch. He jokily recalled their description of the now-iconic freeze frame jump:

 “We’re thinking like… imagine you’re in a fight. You, like, jump. Imagine if you could stop jumping in the middle of the jump. But then, people could see around you 360 degrees while you stop jumping. We’re going to invent these cameras and then people can see the whole jump when you stop in the middle of the jump.”

He thought it was very innovative and genius. “And as it turns out, they’re geniuses! But there’s a fine line in a pitch meeting between genius and what I experienced in the meeting.” The actor was confused with their lead.  Since they had only one movie as a yardstick which was also a low budget, he couldn’t comprehend their vision. Instead, he went on to act in a box office flunk Wild Wild West. He continues, “….So I made Wild Wild West, and I’m not proud of it.”

The Matrix was a commercial success, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1999. Smith doesn’t seem to regret turning down the role because he believes it would not be the same if it were in his hands. “So I probably would have messed The Matrix up. I would have ruined it, so I did y’all a favor.” He added.

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Keanu Reeves thanks Will Smith for the Neo role

Ensuingly, Reeves, in an interview, thanked Will Smith for turning down the Neo role during the time of his release of the fourth installment, The Matrix Resurrections. In an interview with Esquire, he said Will Smith has done a great favor and thanked him for not playing the iconic role for him, as it was life-changing and impacted him in both professional and personal aspects of life.

During the interview, he was asked to share how he felt about Smith’s decision to turn down the lead role in The Matrix.  Reeves even looked at the camera, seemingly addressing Smith to express his thanks to the actor. Smith wasn’t the only actor who declined the role in the Wachowski movie. The singer, Madonna also declined the same. Quite different from Smith, she feels remorse at losing the role in “one of the greatest films ever created.”

Source: Esquire and Will Smith’s YouTube Channel