The announcement of a fourth movie in The Matrix franchise came as quite a shock when it was first reported a few months ago. Since then, we still have no idea about what the story will involve, but we have been given glimpses of Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss filming scenes on location in San Francisco.

Well, it sounds like things are now starting to heat up in the The Matrix 4 production as some overnight shooting in the heart of San Francisco has involved some low flying helicopters as well as some actual explosions. However, it seems that making things more real, and more explosive, has brought with it some real damage in the city by the bay.

According to reports, the sheer heat from the explosions was enough to cause the covers of a couple of building lamps to melt, as well as melting the plastic cover of an advertising street sign. Workers who were called in to replace the damaged equipment have estimated that this is about $2,000 worth of damage. At least we know they're taking the action sequences seriously. Production is scheduled to continue in the city through to next weekend, and it will be exciting to see if any more collateral damage is caused by their efforts.

If you were in any way worried that The Matrix 4 was not going to go all out for its action scenes, you can now rest easy, as it seems the explosions on Market Street caused a couple of thousand dollars of actual damage. For a movie about a digital world, we can expect a lot of digital effects, but from the various videos taken by fans over the last couple of weeks, we can deduce that the movie is not going to shy away from practical effects either.

Putting the damage aside, it is great to see that The Matrix 4 will not simply be a computer-generated sheen and will continue to use the same kind of ingenious practical effects that stood the first movie in such good stead. Digital effects will inevitably be implemented, and have come on leaps and bounds since the release of The Matrix trilogy, but you really cannot beat practical effects and their ability to ground ludicrous movie moments in some semblance of reality. The Matrix 4 is the fourth installment in the science fiction franchise and will presumably pick up after the events of 2003's The Matrix Revolutions.

The movie will be co-written and directed by Lana Wachowski, one of the two Wachowskis who directed the previous three movies. The Matrix 4 stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Ann Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith who will all reprise their roles from the previous movies. Additionally, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Toby Onwumere, Eréndira Ibarra, Priyanka Chopra, Andrew Caldwell, Brian J. Smith, and Ellen Hollman have been cast in undisclosed roles.The Matrix 4 is slated to hit theaters in May of 2021. This comes to us from NBC Bay Area.