The Wachowski's New Sci-Fi Action Epic JUPITER ASCENDING Films 2012!

The Matrix siblings will begin shooting a mysterious franchise starter next Spring at Warner Bros.

By Matt Holmes /

The Wachowski's who in 1999 made the ground-breaking science fiction film The Matrix and then followed that up with two commercially successful sequels at Warner Bros (plus Speed Racer, but we'll not talk about that!) are teaming with the major Hollywood studio again on a new sci-fi action franchise of their own creation. Deadline reports that shooting will begin in the spring on Jupiter Ascending (previously titled Jupiter Rising), a top secret project that has tongues wagging at WB with some saying they have another Matrix hit on their hands. The hunt is now on for a major A-list star to lead. That's all we know of the project to date but I certainly welcome any original franchise with scope and vision from these two unusual but exciting visionaries. From the sounds of things The Wachowski's are back in the film-making business in a big way. After their flop Speed Racer in 2008 they went low for a while but they are now back with the currently filming, mega ambitious, multi-stranded adaptation of David Mitchell's Booker Prize Winning novel Cloud Atlas (which they are helming one of two separate large ensemble casts & units on, the other spearheaded by German director Tom Tykwer) and post-that have been looking at working their way into bringing an original film to screen. For a while they had their eyes on Hood, a contemporary and urban take on the Robin Hood myth that would star Will Smith, their original choice for Neo in The Matrix. Plus they were also working secretly on a crazy sounding R-rated Iraq War gay romance flick titled CN-9 (Cobault Neutral 9) but they couldn't get financing on it. Now they look to be setting up back at Warner in a big way. And I just wonder if once again they go tapping on Will Smith's door... (though honestly, we don't even know if the leading role is male/female or a full ensemble, so who is to say?).