Over 25 years since he turned down the role of Neo to instead star in Wild Wild West, Will Smith may be about to enter The Matrix at last. The King Richard Oscar winner shared a cryptic Instagram post today teasing that he’ll be starring in an upcoming new movie from the sci-fi franchise. Nothing has been officially confirmed yet, but it indicates that he’ll have a major role to play in the previously announced Matrix 5, which is currently in development with Lana Wachowski serving as an executive producer and Drew Goddard set to direct.

In the short video Smith shared, orange text is typed on-screen that recalls his original decision in 1997 to pass on the starring role of The Matrix to take on a role he saw as a better fit for him at the time, before asking what would’ve happened if he had been Neo instead of Keanu Reeves. It closes with the final words “Wake up, Will… The Matrix has you” that all but ensure that he’ll be brought into the simulation. Yet, the post could also indicate a new direction for the franchise. Given that The Matrix Resurrections saw new versions of established favorites like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II‘s Morpheus and Jonathan Groff‘s Agent Smith, Smith‘s video may be an indication that he’ll be playing a new version of Neo. Whatever the case, it’s a big development that begins to shape what The Matrix‘s future looks like after its polarizing fourth outing.

Smith has largely bounced back since publicly slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards. In the years since scoring his first Oscar as the father and mentor of Venus and Serena Williams, he’s taken on the starring role in the acclaimed Emancipation and returned to his beloved action comedy franchise with last year’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die opposite Martin Lawrence. On the horizon, he’s also set to return to another favorite role of his with a sequel to I Am Legend. First set back in 2022 with Michael B. Jordan cast opposite Smith, the long-awaited post-apocalyptic follow-up is still chugging along with Steven Caple Jr. eyed to direct.

What Else Do We Know About ‘The Matrix 5’?

At this time, very little is known about what Goddard‘s film is about or how it will tie into the previous four Matrix movies. Resurrections has already taken the franchise in a strange direction with only Lana Wachowski returning to direct and both Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss reprising their roles. Warner Bros. Motion Pictures president of production Jesse Ehrman teased with the announcement of a fifth installment that it won’t stray far from the story and themes of the original films while attempting to evolve the series based on an idea Goddard brought to the table himself. Known for creating the NetflixDaredevil series, writing The Martian, and helming the new hit ABC drama High Potential, he’ll have his work cut out to get the franchise back on track after its last disappointing showing at the box office.

Stay tuned here at Collider for more on The Matrix franchise and the possibility of Smith leading the next film as more news comes out.