This week, the world of entertainment gave us two more reminders that when Hollywood is eventually forced to move on from the diminishing returns of IP stripmining, it will do so kicking and screaming all the way. Those reminders came in the form of news that a new Matrix movie is in the works, and in a still from the “live-action” (and those are heavy quotes) 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Lion King prequel.
Both bits of entertainment news are bummers because of who is and isn’t involved with each project. For Mufasa: The Lion King, it is extremely depressing to see Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins, writer-directo♍r of Moonlight (one of the few movies of the 2010s to be inducted to the most recent list of the greatest films of all time) making a movie that, from this still at least, looks indistinguishable from the gray CGI slop that increasingly defines Disney live-action movies.
The Existence Of The Matrix 5 Activꦑ🐻ely Detracts From The Franchise
Without the Wachowskis, I’m not watching.
When directors want to “level up”, they often take on a “one for them” project, i.e. something that will make the studio happy and has the potential to be a commercial hit. This is a proven path to success, and has sometimes given rise to great movies in their own right, like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Dark Knight, Barbie, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In the best cases, these projects prove that the filmmakers behind them have the commercial sensibility and leadership acumen to handle a big budget, while still maintaining the vision that made people fans of their work in the first place. And, if the project is a hit, it enables the filmmaker to pivot to a “one for me,&rdqu𝕴o; like Christopher Nolan making The Prestige after the success of Batmaꦬn Begins.
I've held onto a sliver of hope that Mufasa: The Lion King could turn out to be that kind of project, the kind where the artist’s vision is still clear. But I've held onto a significantly larger slice of hope that it wouldn't actually get made and released. A 2024 release date and that ugly lion have dashed both hopes.
The Matrix 5, on the other hand, is a bummer because of who isn't directing it. Lana and Lilly Wachowski directed the first three films in the franchise together, and Lana returned solo to direct The Matrix Resurrections. Few blockbuster franchises are as tied to the creators that began them as The Matrix. George Lucas sold Star Wars, James Cameron moved on from 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Terminator, and Steven Spielberg only made the first Jaws. But the Wachowskis have been involved with The Matrix from the beginning through to 2021's Resurrections. So, the news of The Matrix 5 was immediately soured by the accompanying information that neither sister would be returning to write or direct, with The Cabin in the Woods' Drew Goddard helming instead. Lana is returning as executive producer, but not in any creative capacity.
I don't have anything against Goddard. I like Cloverfield and The Martian, both of which he wrote. But the decision to keep the franchise moving without the Wachowskis' creative involvement is a frustrating sign of Hollywood's refusal to invest in new ideas. Not every Wachowski movie has hit for me, but the sisters are two of Hollywood's most original voices, and The Matrix has retained a beautiful strangeness precisely because they never farmed it out to hired hands. Even in the franchise’s transmedia entries, The Animatrix and The Matrix Online, the Wachowskis were involved.
The Wachowskis even directed an hour of 35 mm film footage for the 2003 game Enter the Matrix, which was released on the same day as The Matrix Reloaded and tied into the trilogy's story.
But this is the path that Hollywood persists on. An up-and-coming director like Barry Jenkins is grist for the content mill, while the Wachowskis are seen as inessential to the future of the series they created — one which is tied inseparably to their identities as trans women. Filmma🥃kers don’t matter, only franchises. Personal stories don’t matter, only branding.
It Doesn't Matter How Colourful The Little Mermaid Is
Some scen🎃es of The Little Mermaid seem far too dark, but re🐓cent trailers are dazzlingly bright. For movies like this, that's not really the point.
