The Matrix actor Joe Pantoliano has revealed that he still feels deceived by the Wachowskis over the fate of his character, Cypher, claiming the directors “f***ing lied” about whether the character would survive the 1999 sci-fi classic.
Speaking during a panel at New York Comic Con, Pantoliano shared that he had asked the Wachowskis to alter The Matrix script so Cypher wouldn’t be killed off hoping the duplicitous character might reappear in later sequels.
As fans will recall, Cypher meets his apparent end when he’s electrocuted by a lightning gun and blasted off screen after betraying Neo’s crew aboard the Nebuchadnezzar.
“I said, ‘Hey, you can’t kill me, right? You’re not gonna kill me?’” Pantoliano recalled of a phone conversation with the filmmaking duo, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.
“And Lilly said, ‘Hey, Lana, he doesn’t want us to kill him.’ And I heard Lana off camera, knowing that I could hear this, and she said, ‘Well, just lie to him and we’ll kill him anyway.’”
While Cypher’s death is never explicitly shown, the character never returns in any Matrix sequel. He is later referenced as being dead in The Matrix Online, the now-defunct MMO that the Wachowskis regarded as a canonical continuation of the series. In the game, Cypher’s ideology inspired a faction known as the Cypherites, who rejected the real world and sought to return to the Matrix.
Pantoliano expressed frustration that other deceased characters notably Agent Smith were brought back in later films.
“Don’t get me started, all right? They brought f***ing Agent Smith back,” he said, referencing Hugo Weaving’s return in the sequels. “It’s The Matrix!”
As for the franchise’s future, Warner Bros. is reportedly eager to continue expanding The Matrix universe, despite the divisive reception of 2021’s The Matrix Resurrections which IGN rated 4/10, describing it as “a bunch of really good ideas stacked together to make a bad and sometimes ugly film.”
Last year, the studio announced that Drew Goddard acclaimed TV writer behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, Lost, Daredevil, and The Good Place will write and direct a new Matrix film, marking the first installment not helmed by either of the Wachowskis.
Whether that opens the door for Pantoliano’s Cypher to finally make his return remains to be seen.
Source: IGN Southeast Asia