'Matrix 5' is in the works, and Lana Wachowski is back — but not as director

For the first time in franchise history, a Matrix movie is not being directed by Lana or Lily Wachowski.

Warner Bros. has announced that it is making a fifth Matrix movie, but that the film will not be directed by the Wachowski sisters, according to Variety. Instead, The Martian screenwriter Drew Goddard will be behind the camera.

The film will be the first installment in the series without one of the two sisters directing, though Lana Wachowski is attached as an executive producer. It is unclear right now if any performers from the previous films have agreed to return, including the series' leads, Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, or performers from the most recent The Matrix Resurrectionslike Jonathan Groff and Neil Patrick Harris.

While no plot details have been revealed yet, Warner Bros. Motion Pictures president of production Jesse Ehrman said in a statement via the outlet that the story will expand on the world while staying faithful to the "cinematic canon the Wachowskis’ spent a quarter of a century building here at the studio.”

“Drew [Goddard] came to Warner Bros. with a new idea that we all believe would be an incredible way to continue the Matrix world, by both honoring what Lana and Lilly began over 25 years ago and offering a unique perspective based on his own love of the series and characters,” he said.

Before The Matrix Resurrections released in 2021, it had been 18 years since The Matrix Revolutions seemingly brought the franchise to a close. Lana Wachowski returned as sole writer and director to expand on the original trilogy, which are considered some of the most influential science-fiction movies of all time.

“It is not hyperbole to say The Matrix films changed both cinema and my life,” Goddard said. “Lana and Lilly’s exquisite artistry inspires me on a daily basis, and I am beyond grateful for the chance to tell stories in their world.”