Will Smith teased his involvement in The Matrix 5, but if the sci-fi franchise does cast him in the leading role, it will repeat one of the most annoying parts of The Matrix Resurrections. Will Smith infamously turned down playing Neo in The Matrix early in his acting career, and the part obviously went to Keanu Reeves instead. Smith chose to film Wild Wild West instead, though he did get his major sci-fi franchise in the form of Men in Black. Still, it’s a career mistake that has haunted Smith for decades, and it may now be time for him to rectify it.

Smith posted a video to his Instagram that seemingly teased him fixing his previous mistake and taking on the role of Neo in The Matrix 5. Confusingly, however, Variety denied that Smith is currently involved in a new Matrix movie, so it’s not entirely clear what project his video was referring to. It is possible that Will Smith has some inside information at this early stage in development, and he could actually end up being in The Matrix 5. If he does, his involvement would open the movie up to one of the biggest criticisms that The Matrix Resurrections faced.

Will Smith In The Matrix 5 Would Be A Bad Idea After The Matrix Resurrections Went Too Meta

The Matrix Resurrections Was Too Concerned With The Past, & Will Smith’s Casting Would Repeat That Mistake

The Matrix Resurrections wasn’t the worst of the Matrix movies, but it was very far from the highs of the original. A big reason it failed to live up to The Matrix is because Resurrections spent nearly its entire runtime referencing it instead of building something new. Resurrections is essentially a reboot of The Matrix, yet it also hates reboots and legacy sequels. The Matrix Resurrections was far too meta for its own good, and it let its satire of movie sequels and fan expectations get in the way of building a good and interesting narrative that was worthy of continuing the franchise.

If Will Smith is cast as Neo in The Matrix 5, it will be arguably more meta than Resurrections was. The entire reason he would be cast as Neo would be so fans could see him take on the role decades after he pᴀssed it up. Smith’s casting is exactly what Resurrections was making fun of, and it’s a far too meta reason to make The Matrix 5. Fans of The Matrix have already seen what making a new installment purely to capitalize on excitement results in. If The Matrix wants to avoid repeating the mistakes Resurrections made, it can’t have Will Smith as Neo.

The Matrix 5 Needs To Break Away From The Existing Series (But Not With Will Smith)

The Matrix 5 Needs To Find New Ground Without Getting Overly Meta By Casting Will Smith

The only way The Matrix 5 can surpᴀss Resurrections is if it gets away from meta references and industry commentary. The Matrix 5 needs to find some way to earnestly continue Neo’s story and the world that the franchise created without leaning on fan service, nostalgia, or meta commentary. At this point, there’s probably nothing the franchise could do to recreate the magic of the original movie, so it’s better to do something entirely different. Unfortunately, Will Smith playing Neo is exactly the kind of callback to the franchise’s history that it needs to avoid.

The Matrix 5 could actually learn a lesson from the earlier sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Neither Reloaded nor Revolutions lived up to the original film, but divisive as they were, they at least took a chance and tried to push the franchise forward instead of focusing on the past. In doing so, they gave fans great additions to Neo’s story, from concepts like different iterations of the Matrix to specific scenes like the highway sequence in Reloaded. If The Matrix 5 can take a chance like Reloaded and Revolutions did, there’s at least a chance it will surpᴀss Resurrections.