'Matrix 4': What happened to Morpheus? Laurence Fishburne's absence from new film revealed

Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss, who have been synonymous with the Matrix franchise, return with the latest installment of the action film series, The Matrix Resurrections. However, one of the popular actors of the franchise, Laurence Fishburne, is conspicuous by his absence in the new film. 

The character Morpheus, though, is a part of the film, without much details being available on whether it is a younger version, an alternate version, or reincarnation of the character played by Fishburne. This character is being played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Here's looking at what happened to Morpheus in Matrix, and why he is not a part of the fourth installment.

Why is Morpheus not in Matrix 4?

Fishburne had confirmed, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, in August last year, that he was not a part of the new Matrix. He had then said that he did not have the 'answer' to it, since he believed only the director of the film, Lana Wachowski, could answer it.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II too had stated that there was a 'new narrative' to Matrix, thus giving birth to a 'new Morpheus'. Keanu Reeves, in an interview with Unilad, had also shared that Wachowski had decided to creatively go ahead with the production and story, without Fishburne.

 What happened to Morpheus in Matrix 3?

Morpheus led the battle, as the captain of the hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar, against the machines, Sentinals, when they attacked the human city, Zion. While Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, sacrifices himself to protect Zion and destroy Sentinals, Morpheus could be seen exulting with Niobe over the victory in the war, in the climax.

Why is Laurence Fishburne's Morpheus not in Matrix 4?

While Laurence Fishburne's Morpheus emerged alive after the end of The Matrix Revolutions, unlike Neo and Trinity, various theories have been doing the rounds over him not appearing in The Matrix Resurrections. 

One of the theories had a link to the game, The Matrix Online, which released in 2005. In the game, which traces the events after Neo's death, Morpheus could be seen asking the machines about Neo's remains, with hopes to bring him back to life. However, as they refuse, he sets off explosions of the 'code bombs' in Matrix, to force the machines to agree to his demands. This led to him being killed by the machines. 

Another theory states that since Neo and Trinity, who died in The Matrix Revolutions, re-emerge in the latest installment, the setting could be a new Matrix version, where Morpheus can't appear since he had survived in the previous Matrix world.

However, as the film hit the theatres, it has emerged that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is only a program created by Neo in a new Matrix version. Neo, as per a report on Digital Spy, considers it to be a combination of Morpheus and Agent Smith, as the characters of his game. Bugs, played by Jessica Henwick, becomes the first to see Morpheus when she hacks into the program created by Neo as expected, though Morpheus acts like Agent Smith.

Neo realises that the program was Morpheus after seeing the conversation with Bugs. This version has the capability to appear before humans, thus leading to the appearance of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's version of Morpheus. 
  
Fishburn's version of Morpheus does appear in the film through archival footage when Bugs and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's Morpheus tell Neo that his world was not real. They also stumble upon a statue of Fishburn's version of Morpheus,  after he becomes the High Chair of the Council.