The Matrix franchise has been one of the earliest path-breakers of the cinematic universe. The first movie was released in 1999 and featured Keanu Reeves in the lead role. The film was a commercial and critical success. It was a science fiction action film, written and directed by the Wachowskis. Owing to the blockbuster success of the first film, there were sequels released for the film.
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix

Reality behind the curse of Keanu Reeves’ The Matrix

The first film featuring Keanu Reeves, The Matrix, was released in 1999. It was followed by two sequels. However, there was a series of extraordinary events, which made it difficult to complete those films. The first shock was the demise of R&B star Aaliyah, 22. The young actress died in a plane crash. She had not completed the shoot for her role of Zee, a mysterious Matrix character. The crash shook everyone and production was pushed back by months as Aaliyah’s scenes had to be reshot. Marvin Gaye’s daughter, Nona, got her part in the film.

A still from the iconic bike chase scene in The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Barely a month later, another cast member, Gloria Foster, passed away due to diabetes. She played the role of The Oracle. The difficult situation was followed by financial issues when special effects houses commissioned to produce individual shots shut down, and the cost rose unbelievably. There were exceptional fight scenes, but they cost a ton to the studio. There was a 17-minute helicopter fight through skyscrapers, which cost $31 million.

Due to the skyrocketing cost, the production of The Matrix sequel was on the verge of shutting down. Keanu Reeves had to sign away his back-end points worth $2.9 million to help the film.

Keanu Reeves personal tragedies during the filming of The Matrix sequels

As per reports, Keanu Reeves’s girlfriend, Jennifer Syme gave birth to a stillborn baby girl in 1999. The couple was heartbroken, and they split soon after. However, they remained close. Sometime later in the same year, Reeves crashed his motorbike and was admitted to hospital due to broken ribs and a ruptured spleen. When the shoot started, he was again in hospital due to a foot injury during the filming.
Keanu Reeves in a still from The Matrix (1999)
In April 2001, Jennifer Syme also died in a car crash in LA. He was hardly able to overcome the loss when he found out that his sister’s leukemia had relapsed. His sister Kim had been battling leukemia for ten years before the relapse. Reeves abandoned the film and flew her to Hawaii to be there for her and make her comfortable.

The string of mishappenings was a massive blow to the cast and crew of the film. The continuous events led to talks about the Curse of The Matrix among the fans.

The sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were released in 2003. The fourth installment, The Matrix Resurrections released in 2021.

The Matrix is available for streaming on Max.