The Matrix Resurrections star Jonathan Groff will take Keanu Reeves’ chosen one to task in the upcoming sequel, with the Mindhunter star at one point told to smash the beloved actor’s face into a wall. Groff teased what’s sure to be a thrilling fight between the pair during the exciting events of The Matrix Resurrections while speaking with Entertainment Weekly, revealing that the stunt team nicknamed the Hamilton actor the “The Savage.”

“Lana's like, 'If you could do an open palm and put your finger right underneath Keanu's eyeball and then smash his face into the wall, that would be great for camera.' I look at Keanu and he just gave me the nod, like, 'Go for it.' And the trust! I mean, I have to spin in a circle, slap my hand on his face, and then smash it into the thing. I feel like there's so much love and respect that is swapped in those moments.”

Smashing Keanu Reeves’s face into a wall is surely the opposite of what the adored actor deserves, but it certainly sounds like he was game to endure some punishment in the name of our entertainment. Jonathan Groff went on to praise Reeves’ commitment to the stunt work involved, speaking of the trust offered by the actor and even comparing the process to making love.

"He taught me so much about the agreement of two people to hit each other but not hurt each other. It's like making love with someone. When our fight was over, I felt deeply connected to him in a physical way."

The Matrix franchise is well-renowned for its action sequences and hugely impressive fight scenes, and no doubt the finished product will look nothing like the tender experience that Groff describes. A throwdown between Groff’s character and Keanu Reeves’ Neo has been glimpsed in the recent marketing material for The Matrix Resurrections and looks to harken back the dusty, brutal battle between Agent Smith and The One in the very first The Matrix.

Starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Lambert Wilson, Daniel Bernhardt, Eréndira Ibarra, Christina Ricci, and Neil Patrick Harris, The Matrix Resurrections is the fourth movie in the sci-fi action franchise, with the sequel following on from the story that was first established in 1999’s The Matrix. Set twenty years after the first outing, The Matrix Resurrections will once again attempt to define pop culture as audiences are plugged back into this mind-bending new adventure of action and epic scale.

Groff’s mysterious role in proceedings has seemingly now been confirmed, with the most recent trailer revealing that he will indeed portray the villain of the piece. Described as “Thomas Anderson’s business partner, a slick, confident corporate type with insouciant charm, a disarming smile and an eye on the bottom line--everything Mr. Anderson is not,” Groff’s character will resurrect an enemy from Neo’s past. An enemy long-thought erased.

Directed by Lana Wachowski, The Matrix Resurrections is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures theatrically on December 22, 2021, and will also stream digitally on HBO Max in the United States for a month beginning on that same date.