Fishburne has seemingly been replaced by rising star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who has generated plenty of buzz lately with his performances in Watchmen<\/a> and Candyman<\/a>, but nevertheless has some big shoes to fill here.<\/p>\n Read on for all the details on whether Laurence Fishburne has a cameo in The Matrix Resurrections<\/a>, as well as who exactly Abdul-Mateen II plays in the film.\u00a0Spoiler alert!<\/strong><\/p> Let\u2019s get this out of the way to start off. No, Laurence Fishburne does not have a cameo in The Matrix Resurrections \u2013 at least, not via any brand new scenes.<\/p>\n As glimpsed in the trailer, Lana Wachowski integrates clips from the first Matrix movie into the world of her sequel, so there is some archive footage featuring the original Morpheus, but not any new material.<\/p>\n The closest we get to a cameo comes shortly after Neo\u2019s arrival to the \u201creal world\u201d city formerly known as Zion (now Io), where we see a stone statue of Morpheus has been erected, modelled from Fishburne\u2019s appearance.<\/p>\n Jada Pinkett Smith\u2019s Niobe explains that he had been elected High Chair after the war ended, but fell from grace after he did not treat reports of a new threat to humanity with enough severity.<\/p>\n It\u2019s never explicitly stated whether Morpheus is dead, but given the statue, the fact that 60 years have passed in the real world, and the events of The Matrix Online \u2013 which die-hard fans still consider canon \u2013 we\u2019d bet that he probably is.<\/p>\n In an interview with British GQ<\/a> last month, Abdul Mateen II cryptically teased that he was playing a character \u201ccalled Morpheus\u201d, but not necessarily the man himself \u2013 and that\u2019s a fairly accurate description of what\u2019s really going on.<\/p>\n It is revealed that this younger Morpheus is actually a digital intelligence that was subconsciously coded by Neo during his time trapped in The Matrix (where he lived as civilian Thomas Anderson).<\/p>\n For quite some time, this artificial Morpheus was trapped inside a modal \u2013 a simulation used to advance programming \u2013 in which his only function was to hunt down \u201csentients\u201d.<\/p>\n However, he had an epiphany during one loop when he was shown the code to the Matrix, which revealed to him what he had really been designed to do.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time I felt real purpose; who I was and what I had to do,\u201d he tells Bugs (Jessica Henwick) in an early scene. \u201cI am Morpheus and I have to find Neo.\u201d<\/p>\n One explanation for why Morpheus looks different now is that this version of the character is from The Matrix video game designed by Thomas Anderson (aka Neo) while he was living in the actual\u00a0<\/em>Matrix (yes, it\u2019s all very meta).<\/p>\n By utilising advanced technology created by the humans of Io in collaboration with rebellious machines, the Morpheus digital intelligence is able to interact with the physical world to a certain extent.<\/p>\n The Matrix Resurrections is out in cinemas now. Check out more of our Film<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\nDoes Laurence Fishburne cameo in The Matrix Resurrections?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Who is Yahya Abdul Mateen II playing in The Matrix Resurrections?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""Yahya\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/12\/yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-morpheus-matrix-resurrections-8a8e26a.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"yahya-abdul-mateen-ii-morpheus-matrix-resurrections\"\\"\/")
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