20 Movie Sequels That Took WAY Too Long

Here's a sobering fact for you - by the time the fourth Matrix film, The Matrix Resurrections, was finally released in December 2021, people born after the release of the previous film, The Matrix Revolutions, were old enough to drink.

Even though 2003's Revolutions was created as a conclusion to the original trilogy, it disappointed enough fans and left enough doors open that many were eager to see the Wachowskis continue the story.

But another 18 years passed before The Matrix 4 finally came out, and though Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss were clearly still game, it was painfully clear that Lana Wachowski didn't really want to make the sequel, only doing so because Warner Bros. would've made it regardless.

And so we ended up with the awkwardly fourth wall-breaking mess that was The Matrix Resurrections, which lacked the technical polish of its predecessors and failed to strike a chord with audiences, becoming one of the biggest box office flops of the decade.

Would a fourth Matrix released in, say, 2008 have been any good? And would either of the Wachowskis have even been involved if Warner Bros. forced it through? Who can say? 

But at least it would've released at a time when The Matrix was still culturally relevant and audiences were eager to see what became of Neo.