Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Opens Up About Making Morpheus His Own

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II still can’t believe he’s playing Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections.

The Emmy award-winning actor told HipHollywood the idea of playing the character, made famous by Laurence Fishburne, was a bit overwhelming and exciting.

“I really approached it from my level of excitement. I  knew it wasn’t my job to do a Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus impersonation, but that I had more freedom to be expressive,” he said. “I was playing a character that was coming into his own with an awareness of the past, but also with a very keen eye towards building his own identity moving forward so I really took it as an exploration in self-discovery.”

 

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Fishburne told Entertainment Tonight  he was not asked to join the film, which might explain why Yahya didn’t speak with about the role. Still, fans will be pleased to see Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss back in black, as well as a host of newcomers including Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris and Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

Jonas told us vets like Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith (who reprises her role as Niobe) for giving her loads of advice.

The Matrix Resurrections, directed by Lana Wachowski, opens in theaters and drops on HBO Max on Dec. 22.

“The Matrix Resurrections” is a continuation of the story established in the first “Matrix” film. It reunites Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss as cinematic icons Neo and Trinity in an expansion of their story that ventures back into the Matrix and even deeper down the rabbit hole. A mind-bending new adventure with action and epic scale, it’s set in a familiar yet even more provocative world where reality is more subjective than ever and all that’s required to see the truth is to free your mind.