Jessica Henwickis an English actress best known for her roles inGame of Thrones,Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakensand Netflix’sIron Fist,the latter of which earned her praise across the board for her standout performance as Colleen Wing. In effect, by the end of 2017, Henwick was listed as one ofVariety’s Top Breakout Stars of 2017.
As Henwick has detailed to the press, the day she received the offer from the folks behindThe Matrix Resurrectionsto fly to Los Angeles and chemistry read with the actors up for the Morpheus role— including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II—was the same day she got an offer to screen test forShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. “[The studios] knew about the other offers, and both of them gave me the offer on the stipulation that I could only audition for one or the other. And there was no guarantee that I would get either,“Henwick toldEntertainment Weekly. “It was a red pill, blue pill moment for me.” Here’s a closer look at why she made the right choice with Lana Wachowski’s highly anticipated sequel of the belovedMatrixfranchise.
Henwick Already Played an MCU Martial Artist
Henwick is no stranger to mega franchises, and in Marvel’sIron Fist, she plays Colleen Wing, a martial artist who runs her own dojo in New York City. The Iron Fist character—AKA Daniel Thomas Rand—first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1974. He is a practitioner of martial arts and wielder of a mystical force known as the “iron fist.” The fictional character had his own solo series in the 1970s, and shared the titlePower Man and Iron Fistfor several years with Luke Cage. He has starred in numerous solo titles since, includingThe Immortal Iron Fist.The first season of the Netflix series was released in 2017 and received generally negative reviews from critics but maintained a strong viewership. A second season was released the following year to an improved critical reception, but the show was ultimately canceled.
“The most defining word that comes to mind isalone—in all its positives and negatives,“said Henwick toInterviewMagazinein describing herIron Fistcharacter. “She doesn’t want to be anyone’s love interest and open herself up in that way.”
The actress hasn’t officially confirmed whether it was herIron Fistcharacter that was being offered to her forShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsor if it was a different role altogether. It’s been done before; indeed, Michelle Yeoh’s role inShang-Chias the titular hero’s aunt is her second role overall in the MCU franchise (separate from her role as Aleta Ogord inGuardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. Regardless, given that Henwick has already sunk her teeth into a fan-favorite Marvel role in the past, we can’t blame her for expanding her horizons withThe Matrix Resurrections.
Related:Jessica Henwick Turned Down Shang-Chi to Pursue The Matrix Resurrections
The Matrix Offers a Juicier Role
Lana Wachowski’s fourthMatrixinstallment is about to hit the masses, with Henwick co-starring as Bugs, a blue-haired gunslinger with a White Rabbit tattoo. The new film takes place 20 years after the events ofThe Matrix Revolutions, with Neo living a seemingly ordinary life as “Mr. Anderson” in San Francisco. A therapist prescribes him blue pills to counteract the strange and unnatural things he occasionally sees. He also meets a woman who appears to be Trinity, but they don’t recognize each other—even though we certainly do. When a new version of Morpheus (played by Abdul-Mateen II) offers him the red pill and reopens his mind to the Matrix, Neo joins a group of rebels to fight a new enemy.
Henwick described her supporting character toEWas “the audience’s eyes.” And in aninterview with Den of Geek, she detailed how the role was presented initially: “All they told me was a very short description of her being a captain, and a leader, and a true believer in the legend of Neo. Yeah, that was it. It was pretty minimal.”
Last year,Henwick teased the film to ComicBookby claiming Lana Wachowski would again change the course of filmmaking just as she did with the original trilogy — another good reason to choose The Matrix over Shang-Chi. “There are definitely moment on set where Yahya [Abdul-Mateen II] and I look at each other and we just go, ‘Matrix 4.’ Those pinch me moments. Yeah. Lana is doing some really interesting things on a technical level in the same way that you know, she created a style back then. I think she’s going to change the industry again with this film. There’s some camera rigs that I’ve never seen before that we’re using.”
Given these exciting details we’ve learned thus far without even seeingThe Matrix Resurrections, it’s not surprising that Henwick ended up going withThe Matrix Resurrectionsas her next project.
Related:Neo’s Return on The Matrix 4 Set Had Jessica Henwick Tripping Out
Potential for The Matrix 5 Appearance
While Warner Bros. has yet to officially announce thatThe Matrix 5is happening, the studio’s CEO Ann Sarnoff has gone on record saying that another sequel is a possibility. But it seems that the original trilogy co-director andThe Matrix Resurrectionswriter-director will have to be on board to make it. “Anytime Lana wants to make a movie, we’re all in,“Sarnoff recently told Deadline. So far, Wachowski hasn’t expressed any intention of making a fifth movie, butThe Matrix Resurrectionshas already received generally favorable reviews from critics thus far. Plus, it will be interesting to see the how the film performs with a dual release, in theaters and on HBO Max. It’s possible that might direct both Wachowski and the studio’s thinking in terms of a follow-up.
Given the extensive press Henwick has done for her seemingly central role in the highly ancipated fourth installment, it seems likely that “Bugs” would return with sequels to come.
