Some franchises go into another medium, which sometimes can make sense, and others do not. The Matrix is going on stage for a hip-hop dance adaption directed by Danny Boyle called Free Your Mind. The Warner Bros. Theater Ventures project will debut next October at a new venue in Manchester, U.K., Factory International.
The creative take on The Matrix by Danny Boyle will be a “large-scale immersive performance” as it combines “the hip-hop choreography of hundreds of dancers.” It will be Factory International’s inaugural show. The production will “stretch across the building’s ultra-flexible spaces.”
Danny Boyle helming The Matrix dance adaption, set to premiere next October
Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante will compose the music for the production. Kendrick ‘H2O’ Sandy will handle the choreography. The long-time collaborator of the director, Tracey Seaward, will produce. Sabrina Mahfouz (Noughts & Crosses) and Es Devlin will write and craft sculptures.
Over the course of his career, directing The Matrix adaption for Danny Boyle is not too far off from his varied talents. From directing Slumdog Millionaire and 28 Days Later, he has stretched outside the film world. He helmed the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony. He also directed the James Bond skit with Queen Elizabeth II and Daniel Craig skit. His next movie will be Methuselah, which will star Michael B. Jordan and be written by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire). Most recently, he did all six episodes of Hulu’s biographical look at the Sex Pistols and the punk revolution that took place in England.
The first Matrix was released in 1999. It was directed and written by the Wachowskis. The cultural phenomenon won four Oscars. It starred Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving. It spawned two sequels before a major gap before Moss and Reeves reprised their role for the fourth film, last year’s Resurrections.
