Neil Patrick Harris, famous for his role as Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother has joined the cast of Matrix 4 alongside Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Aquaman‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Talk about a shocking piece of news that just dropped out of nowhere. Though, given the secrecy around the project, we have absolutely no idea what role he’ll be playing. Can you imagine Neil Patrick Harris cladding tight leather outfits? What a time to be alive.
The news comes courtesy of Variety:
Neil Patrick Harris is the latest addition to the ensemble cast for the upcoming fourth instalment of the “Matrix” franchise. Plot details are currently unknown. While it was rumoured a young Morpheus could appear in the movie, sources close to the film would not confirm Harris’ specific role.
Of all the cast of characters that have been announced, Neil Patrick Harris definitely stands out. When you think of returning cast members like Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss and new additions like Yahya Abdul-Mateen, all of them seem to be a natural fit in the action-heavy Matrix universe. Neil Patrick Harris doesn’t exactly fit that mould. He’s most known for playing the playboy, Barney Stinson in the HIMYM sitcom — a role that has now become iconic. He also did a terrific job as the over the top and eccentric Count Olaf in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Also, who can forget that time he hosted the Oscars and performed a magic trick?
Yes, he’s been in gritty, dramatic projects before, most notably as the creepy ex-boyfriend in David Fincher’s Gone Girl. But even there the character sort of operated in a zone that’s not too dissimilar from Harris’ usual stuff, in a twisted sort of way. So it’s intriguing that Lana Wachowski has decided to cast him in Matrix 4. It always excites me when comedic actors decide to play more serious roles — just thinking about Steve Carell’s performance in Foxcatcher makes my stomach lurch. But for all we know, I could be overthinking this. Harris could very well be cast in a comedic role and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Matrix 4 is set to be helmed by Lana Wachowski (without her sibling Lily Wachowski), with a script by Lana Wachowski, Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchel.
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