Anna Daniels
Before they became directors of some of the best action movies of the past decade, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch were stunt performers on The Matrix films. Now they’ve revealed that they’re returning to help out behind the scenes on The Matrix 4 – but whereas the filmmakers and their 87Eleven production company have previously been called in on other movies to shoot action sequences, they make clear that director Lana Wachowski shoots all her own action, so they’re only going to be involved in the “creative concept of some of the choreography” of the highly-anticipated sequel.
The Matrix 4 Will Reunite Stahelski and Leitch with Lana Wachowski
Speaking with Collider, Stahelski (who previously worked as Keanu Reeves’ stunt double before eventually directing him in the John Wick films) said, “I think if you’re a fan of the original [Matrix] trilogy you’re gonna love this. Coming back with a vengeance.” And again, their roles behind the scenes won’t be to take care of the action scenes, because Wachowski has that covered herself:
“It’s more about the creative concept of some of the choreography and backing them up with stuff. Other than the Matrixes, most of their stuff…what makes [Lana] so great is she directs her own action. We’ve had second unit directors on some of the Matrixes just because of the logistics involved. But of late, and especially on Matrix 4, she’s directing her own action. The second units for them are mostly establishing shots, the B-sides of the some of the compositions for some locations. But Lana, she does her own action. She weaves it into the main unit stuff, which is why their stuff looks so good.”
“They asked us to help out with the choreography and some of the physical training for the guys,” he continued. “I’m helping out a little bit for a sequence, I think Dave’s helping out for a sequence.”
These guys are the best in the business right now at action and stunt choreography, so Wachowski enlisting their services and creating this The Matrix 4 Stahelski Leitch reunion makes perfect sense – even more so because they’re all Matrix veterans. It’s also classy of these guys to go out of their way to make sure Wachowski is getting the credit she deserves for her work: it might not be enough to stop a slew of misleading headlines from outlets implying that Stahelski and Leitch will be the masterminds behind the film’s action, but the quotes themselves tell the real story.
The Matrix 4 is currently scheduled for release on May 21, 2021.
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