The Keanu Reeves renaissance has reached its apex, as Matrix 4 and John Wick 4 are currently set to be released in theaters on the exact same day. Following his days of playing Neo in the Matrix franchise in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Reeves’ days of being a major action star appeared to be behind him. That all changed when John Wick was released in 2014 and revitalized his career. Using Reeves in a similarly perfect capacity as the Matrix trilogy, the buzz around the first John Wick was enough to greenlight a sequel.

Thanks to a release earlier this year, there are now three entries in the John Wick franchise and Reeves’ stock in Hollywood is though the roof. He made a very self-aware cameo in Netflix’s Always Be My Maybe that generated great memes and GIFs. But, then John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum became a box office hit and saw Lionsgate quickly announce plans for John Wick 4. Even with the long-gestating Bill & Ted 3 set to come out next year, most were not predicting that Reeves would return to another one of his classic roles. But, that’s exactly what he’ll do by returning as Neo in Matrix 4.

Just a few months after confirming that Matrix 4 is happening, Warner Bros. has announced a release date for the movie. The film will hit theaters on May 21, 2021. This piece of news is quite exciting for fans eager to return to the Matrix, but it also sets up an unprecedented box office showdown between Keanu Reeves and himself. As of right now, Matrix 4 and John Wick 4 are going to be released on the same day.

The thought of Matrix 4 and John Wick 4 being released in the same year is enough for Keanu Reeves fans to get excited, but the idea of them debuting on the same day is truly bizarre. The movies are released by different studios, so this isn’t an example of Matrix 4 taking a spot because John Wick 4 can’t hit that date. But, that doesn’t explain why WB would put their Keanu franchise up against another. They either know something that is not yet public (like that John Wick 4 is going to take longer than Lionsgate thought), are trying to bully Keanu’s other franchise out of a prime summer release slot, or actually want to see what will happen if two Keanu Reeves movies open simultaneously.

If we entertain the latter option (which is unlikely), we would see a fascinating scenario play out where audiences may have to pick between which Keanu Reeves franchise to support opening weekend. This could bring some great insight into which fourth movie audiences really want to see more, but it would undoubtedly hurt both films too. Matrix 4 and John Wick 4 would wind up splitting the audience instead of each getting the majority of it by releasing at different times.

Production details on John Wick 4 are not known, but Matrix 4 will reportedly start filming early next year. That will give director Lana Wachowski more than a year to complete the film before the current release date. But, this will also keep Keanu busy in the early months of 2020, making him unable to film John Wick 4. There is a chance that John Wick 4 director Chad Stahelski could complete the movie in less than a year if filming could begin next summer, but the more likely outcome is that the Matrix 4 and John Wick 4 showdown will not happen - with the latter being delayed.

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  • Matrix 4 Release Date: 2021-12-22 John Wick 4 Release Date: 2023-03-24