The Matrix 5 has been confirmed, but very few details about the film’s plot have been revealed yet. It’s unclear whether a story has been written, or even if an idea exists, but the project will surely be another inventive and subversive take on the franchise in the same vein as The Matrix: Resurrections. While this is exciting news, it will also be difficult for this sequel to live up to the heights of the movies that came before it. After everything that went wrong with The Matrix: Resurrections, the next film has lots of work to do.

Whether The Matrix 5 opts to be another sequel, a new prequel, or even a spinoff, it can’t veer too far away from the existing formula if it wants to appease returning fans of the franchise. This is one mistake that the fourth installment made, trying so hard to be different and fresh that it ended up being slightly too unfamiliar. Instead, The Matrix 5 should capitalize on the plot holes and lingering questions from the previous movies, providing these answers through familiar storytelling and returning faces.

Matrix 5 Will Struggle To Have A Villain As Good As Agent Smith

Hugo Weaving’s Antagonist Won’t Be Easily Replaced

There are many great characters in The Matrix movies, but none of them have a presence quite as irreplaceable as Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith. His villain is among the many great aspects of the Wachowskis’ original trilogy, with the ongoing conflict between Keanu Reeves’ Neo and Agent Smith enabling some of the series’ most interesting and astute dialogues about faith, purpose, and the human condition. The way his character evolves from an extremely generic component of the Matrix into a complex, thinking being with his own ideals is fascinating to watch, and the series wouldn’t be complete without it.

However, it’s unlikely that Agent Smith will be making a return in The Matrix 5. He’s technically been present in every movie so far (portrayed by Jonathan Groff in The Matrix: Resurrections), but it certainly feels like the franchise needs to go in a new direction if it wants to remain interesting. This could mean a prequel, or even some kind of spinoff, but a fifth “Neo vs Smith” narrative doesn’t sound as compelling as it should. On the other hand, it is virtually impossible for The Matrix 5 to come up with a villain as charismatic and compelling as the original Smith.

Matrix 4 Proved How Important Hugo Weaving’s Smith Is To The Franchise

Smith’s Absence Was Clearly Felt In The Matrix: Resurrections

Without Weaving’s iconic villain, it’s difficult to imagine The Matrix 5 living up to the immense expectations that will inevitably be placed upon it. As entertaining as Groff is in The Matrix: Resurrections, his iteration of Agent Smith simply isn’t as engaging, and it is hard to understand why he wasn’t simply introduced as a new character. If The Matrix 5 doesn’t bring Hugo Weaving back, they’ll need a totally fresh and original villain to keep things interesting; another recast shouldn’t be in the cards.