'The Matrix Resurrections': Keanu Reeves Explains Absence Of Laurence Fishburne And Hugo Weaving

Keanu Reeves opened up about the absence of former co-stars Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving, who played major roles in the "Matrix" franchise since 1999. While Fishburne portrayed Morpheus, Weaving played Agent Smith's character.

Reeves explained that it was director Lana Wachowski's creative decision to keep both the characters away from their newly released installment, "The Matrix Resurrections."

The 57-year-old actor noted that he does miss working with them and still loves them.

"Speaking with Lana about that… it was just creatively where she wanted to go with the production and the story," Reeves told UNILAD on Tuesday. "Yeah, we love Hugo and Lawrence, and we thought about them all the time."

Carrie-Anne Moss, who stars as Trinity -- Reeves' love interest in the movie, also opened up about Fishburne and Weaving's absence in the same interview and noted, "It’s hard not to think about them."

She explained that even though the actors won't appear in this movie, they are "so much a part of it," considering their characters' important role in the franchise.

"I love both of them, and they’re both so talented and such great people," she added. "But there’s an evolution that happened for Lana with the story, and we’re here serving that, you know?"

Previously, Fishburne, 60, and Weaving, 61, spoke about them not returning for the fourth installment of "The Matrix" franchise.

"I have not been asked to join them, which is fine. I am hopeful that it will be wonderful and it will satisfy audiences and that people will love it," Fishburne told ET, last year in August.

Weaving, on the other hand, revealed that he was initially asked to reprise his character but due to date issues between "Matrix" and his role in "The Visit," the production went ahead without him.

"I thought [I] could do both and it took eight weeks to work out that the dates would work. I was in touch with Lana Wachowski, but in the end, she decided that the dates weren’t going to work," he told Time Out London in January 2020. "They’re pushing on ahead without me."

"The Matrix Resurrections" has been released in theaters as well as on the streaming platform, HBO Max. The movie also stars Priyanka Chopra, Jessica Henwick, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Daniel Bernhardt.