Lilly Wachowski said Friday she has stepped back from “The Matrix” franchise she and her sister Lana created more than 27 years ago, telling KCRW’s “The Business” that she no longer wants involvement in future installments. “Personally, I don’t wanna play in that sandbox anymore,” she said. “I’m kinda done.”
The comments come as Warner Bros. develops a fifth “Matrix” film with Oscar-nominated writer Drew Goddard attached to write and direct, a project first reported in 2024 with Lana Wachowski set to executive produce. Lilly indicated the studio’s plans remain contingent on some level of sign-off from her and her sister, describing an unresolved arrangement in which Goddard has been reluctant to proceed without their blessing.
“There may be a thing that’s happening with Drew Goddard, and he doesn’t wanna go forward unless he gets our blessing,” she said. “So it becomes this complicated situation where maybe we’re gonna stick our noses in a tiny bit and see how we feel.”
Lilly and Lana co-wrote and co-directed the original “Matrix” trilogy — the 1999 film and its two 2003 sequels — before Lana directed 2021’s “The Matrix Resurrections” without her sister. Warner Bros. has continued mining the franchise for new installments in the years since, and Lilly’s remarks suggest any future entry will proceed largely without her creative hand, even if she retains informal veto power over the underlying property.
Wachowski is currently focused on securing financing for “The Hunted,” a dystopian political thriller she co-wrote with partner Mickey Ray Mahoney featuring an all-transgender cast and budgeted around $10 million. She said last month that financiers have responded positively to the script itself but have balked at backing a film built entirely around trans actors, calling the reluctance a barrier despite genuine enthusiasm for the material. That project remains unfunded as she distances herself from the franchise that launched her career.
