Neil Patrick Harris To Join Cast Of The Matrix 4

Neil Patrick Harris has joined the cast of the forthcoming fourth instalment of the Matrix movie series.

Variety reports that the How I Met Your Mother star will join Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in an ensemble cast.

Reeves will return to his role as Neo for the first time since 2003's The Matrix Revolutions, with Moss also back on board as love interest and all-round badass Trinity. They'll also be joined by Aquaman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

Lana Wachowski - one half of the Wachowski sisters, who created the franchise - has also signed up to be involved in the series' latest outing.

Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich told The Hollywood Reporter: "We could not be more excited to be re-entering The Matrix with Lana.

"Lana is a true visionary - a singular and original creative filmmaker - and we are thrilled that she is writing, directing and producing this new chapter in The Matrix universe."

Lana Wachowski will be writing, producing and directing the film and she sounds pretty excited that the world of machines, agents and 'jacking in' will get another visit.

Wachowski said: "Many of the ideas Lilly and I explored 20 years ago about our reality are even more relevant now.

"I'm very happy to have these characters back in my life and grateful for another chance to work with my brilliant friends."

So far there's no word on a likely release date or what we can expect in terms of plot, but the resurrection of The Matrix coincides neatly with Keanu Reeves' dramatic return to popularity over the last few years.

Partly down to the success of movies like John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, partly due to the general perception that he's one of Hollywood's nice guys, it looks as though the time is right for arguably his definitive role to make a comeback.

(Don't @ me, Bill & Ted fans, although that franchise is also making a comeback soon enough.)

This represents a return to sci-fi for 46-year-old Harris, who appeared in Starship Troopers back in 1997 having made his name in Doogie Howser, M.D. in the early 1990s.

He's also recently appeared in critically acclaimed films such as Gone Girl and Downsizing.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: The Matrix, TV and Film, keanu reeves

Will Fitzpatrick

Will Fitzpatrick is a Subeditor at LADbible. Will graduated from the University of Liverpool with a BA in English Language and Literature, and has previously worked as music editor at The Skinny North. He has written for a variety of publications including Clash, The Fly, The Line of Best Fit and Razorcake.