When Keanu Reeves’ The Matrix Reloaded hit the theatres in 2003, it blew away its audiences with the CGI effects, the action sequences, and the characters featured in the film. The film helped the John Wick actor rise to stardom and his role of Neo was immensely loved by the viewers and critics praised his portrayal of the character.
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix
The film became a cult classic, which fans tend to return from time to time to enjoy their favorite movie. The Matrix Reloaded starring Keanu Reeves has been praised by numerous filmmakers for its unique approach to the plot, James Cameron was one of them, and he talked about how the movie followed a scene from his action blockbuster, Terminator.
James Cameron Believes The Matrix Reloaded Copied Terminator
James Cameron has praised the 2003 film on numerous occasions. However, the filmmaker ardently believes that the magnum opus created by Lana Wachowski and Lily Wachowski had a segment in the movie that was directly inspired by his Terminator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, the Wachowskis were not only inspired by Cameron’s concept but also improvised it in such a manner, that it impressed the Titanic director.
James Cameron
“I look at a film like The Matrix for example and I see little snippets of DNA from The Terminator in there and I’m fine with that. It’s like, ‘Great!’ I can celebrate that.”
In the same interview with Deadline, Cameron shared that he is delighted to be a source of inspiration to other filmmakers, and what they do with the inspiration delights him, when they watch their movies.
“I think The Matrix is one of the most profoundly fresh science fiction films ever made and yet I do see snippets of Terminator DNA in it. And I’m flattered by that. I like that because I kicked the ball down the field and somebody else took it and ran with it. They did something great.”
While James Cameron shared his praise for The Matrix, during an interview with Collider, he shared how he would not like his Avatar sequel to end like The Matrix sequels, which did not end the story in a full circle.
A still from The Matrix Reloaded
“I’m writing it as separate stories that have an overall arc inclusive of the first film. I don’t want to suffer from the Matrix 2 problem, where it just ends, like, what the hell? It’s gotta end. There’s gotta be a sense of conclusion, but also a sense that the journey will continue, and that’s a fine line.”
It is safe to say that James Cameron was able to understand the real reason behind the failure of the 2003 film as his Avatar: The Way of Water is the third most-grossing movie of all time, and James Cameron is not thinking of stopping the Avatar franchise anytime soon, as he was already planned the sequels of the movies.
James Cameron Once Thought of Expanding The Avatar Franchise Into The World of Novels
Ever since the massive success of Avatar: The Way of Water, the hopes for the continuation of the franchise have increased. But James Cameron shared with Chicago Tribune how he once thought of expanding the franchise into a novel which would help fans to understand the universe as well as help him in writing future sequels for the franchise.
A still from Avatar: The Way of Water
“It gets into the nuts and bolts of the Na’vi culture, their lore and mythology, and has more about Dr. Grace [ Sigourney Weaver’s character] and her time on Pandora, but it doesn’t go beyond the end of the film other than to tease a little bit about what’s going to happen next. It will also be the bible for any future publication, a look-up guide for future writers who can come in and work within the world.”
Cameron added, the publications will also help him in thinking about the future storylines for the sequels, as well as compete with the increasing popularity of other sci-fi franchises, which is a unique approach to maintaining the franchise’s popularity.
The Matrix Reloaded can be streamed on HBO Max.
