Priyanka reveals her ‘visceral’ experience
AS THE new kid on The Matrix Resurrections set, Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas revealed she initially felt “intimidated” by the cast from the previous movies, but said it turned out to be a wonderful experience to work on the film.
The upcoming film in the popular sci-fi film franchise is written and directed by Lana Wachowski, who along with her sister Lilly, helmed the previous three titles – The Matrix in 1999, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003.
“When it comes to women, especially with ‘The Matrix Resurrections’, it’s led by extremely formidable female characters. All of them that you see, they are the ones leading the action... I think that was very important to our director Lana. It was something that really matters to her, she has spoken about,” the 39-year-old actor said in an interview.
The Matrix Resurrections brings back the original cast of the film series alongside a new set of characters. Keanu Reeves returns as
Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity and Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Christina Ricci, Neil Patrick Harris and Jonathan Groff are the new faces in the movie franchise with Priyanka, who plays the grown-up version of Sati, a child with an important connection with Neo.
To get into the skin of Sati – earlier seen in The Matrix Revolutions as a young girl played by Tanveer Atwal – the actress said it was essential for her to understand the character’s arc over the years in the Matrix universe.
Priyanka said it was an honour to be “inducted” in the film franchise, known for redefining the action and sci-fi genre with its complex story. “It’s an extreme honour to be inducted or included in such a project and especially to be given the responsibility of the character of Sati, which I know is very close to Lana and it was very strategically placed in the previous movie. So, I was very excited when I got the role,” she said.
Sati is described by the filmmakers as a young woman with a wisdom beyond her years and an ability to see the truth, no matter how murky the waters.
“What was required for me was having an understanding of what happened from the time we saw her in the previous movie, and where she is right now,” Priyanka said.
“I worked a lot with Lana about what Sati’s purpose is right now, why she is where she is and to be able to build the adult version of where you still see the younger, Sati,” she added, describing the character’s journey within the Matrix universe. “Even with the hair, we tried to pay homage to her. That was really fun because as an actor, character development is the best part about our job,” said Priyanka, whose character is seen with loose trousers, knee-high boots and braided short buns.
Working on the Matrix movie was a “visceral” experience, she said. “I won’t lie, as someone who’s the new kid in the movie, I was very intimidated with Carrie-Anne, Keanu and Jada Pinkett and just having the cast from the previous movies on set. But they’re so wonderful, so encouraging.
“Especially the new lot, as well as Yahya, Jessica, Jonathan, Neil. I was intimidated for the first few days, but after that, they were all so lovely. It was a wonderful experience because we were experiencing this really visceral thing together.” Priyanka said her character did not require any physical training.