The Wachowskis Lied To One Of The Matrix's Stars About Their Character's Death

Joe Pantoliano had a hard time on the production of "The Matrix," the 1999 action thriller that left a massive mark on pop culture. Not only did Pantoliano feel pressured to get liposuction for the movie (to be clear, nobody asked him to do that), but he was disappointed that his character was killed off by the end. His character, Reagan, also known as Cypher, famously betrays the heroes in an attempt to return to the fake material comforts of the Matrix, only to be shot down with a lightning gun. It was a definitive, undignified end.

At a panel at the 2025 New York Comic Con, Pantoliano recalled how he'd asked over the phone for the Wachowskis — the film's sibling director duo — to spare Cypher's life so he could play a role in the potential sequel. "They lied to me!" he yelled in joke outrage. He explained further:

"I said, 'Hey, you can't kill me, right? You're not gonna kill me?' And Lilly said, 'Hey, Lana, he doesn't want us to kill him.' And I heard Lana off camera, knowing that I could hear this, and she said, 'Well, just lie to him and we'll kill him anyway.'" 

The panel's moderator, Josh Horowitz, tried to comfort Pantoliano with the idea that Cypher's death scene wasn't fully "definitive," and that there was still a chance the franchise could bring him back one day. That may sound absurd, but then you remember how Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) had an even more definitive death scene in "Matrix: Revolutions" and still returned alive and well in "Resurrections." If Trinity could return despite being impaled by a bunch of metal pikes, maybe there is a chance Cypher can return somehow in the fifth "Matrix" film that's in development.

Part of why Cypher's death disappointed Pantoliano was that he had successfully convinced a previous director to save one of his characters' life. Pantoliano played U.S. Marshal Cosmo Renfro in "The Fugitive," a character who was supposed to die but ended up returning for the sequel. Pantoliano recalled telling the film's star, Harrison Ford, that he wanted Cosmo to survive in case there was a sequel. Ford asserted that there wouldn't be a sequel because he didn't plan on returning for one, and Pantoliano replied, "Well, f— you. We'll just chase some other $20 million a**hole through the woods." Sure enough, that's exactly what he did in the "U.S. Marshals" six years later. 

Alas, Pantoliano did not get to return for "The Matrix Reloaded," a movie that had a much larger budget and offered a higher paycheck to most of the actors involved. To rub salt in the wound, the sequels kept Cypher in the grave while bringing Agent Smith (who exploded into a million pieces) back to life. 

"Don't get me started, all right? They brought f***ing Agent Smith back," Pantoliano said. 

The actor added that it would be "never too late" for the franchise to give Cypher a similar treatment. It might seem like a pipedream, but at least the events of "The Matrix Resurrections" provided a pathway for such a plot point. It's technically possible for any "Matrix" character to be resurrected to some extent, as long as the machines have access to their DNA and sufficient motivation to bring them back. Sure, resurrecting Cypher would inevitably be sloppy writing, but that has never stopped the franchise before.