Sense8 Cast Talks Reunion With Lana Wachowski For Matrix Resurrections

The returning cast and crew of Netflix’s sci-fi drama Sense8 open up about reuniting with creator Lana Wachowski for The Matrix Resurrections. Erendira Ibarra, Brian J. Smith, Freema Agyeman, Max Riemelt, Max Mauff, Michael X. Sommers, Purab Kohli, and Toby Onwumere starred in the series that first aired in 2015. Sense8 ran for two seasons and an extended two-and-a-half-hour series finale that resolved unaddressed story threads.

Created by the Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski, Sense8 was an ambitious series that followed 8 total strangers who are suddenly psychically linked with one another, making them able to communicate, share skills and knowledge, as well as emotions. Together, the 8 strangers, now known as “sensates” due to their connection, seek to uncover the truth about their connection, uncovering conspiracies by sinister organizations such as the Biological Preservation Organization and the Whispers, who seek to hunt the sensates down. While the Sense8 series finale aired in June 2018, much of the cast and crew reunited after almost 3 years to work on the latest entry into The Matrix franchise.

Speaking to ET, Wachowski, Ibarra, Sommers, Onwumere, and Smith opened up about the Sense8 reunion between the director and returning cast and crew when working on The Matrix Resurrections. Ibarra called the experience “beautiful,” likening the Sense8 cast and crew to family and comparing the reunion to coming home, while Wachowski mentioned much of the experience she had working on Sense8 spilled over into the film’s productions. Sommers recalled his last conversation with Wachowski when wrapping up on Sense8, as well as the call to join The Matrix Resurrections, while Onwumere discussed the importance of the reunion. Finally, Smith mentioned that working on the film felt like they were continuing where they left off. Check out the discussion below.

“Ibarra: It was beautiful. That’s one of the most important things that I love is we got to come together as a family because it wasn’t just onscreen. It was off-screen, too. Everyone from wardrobe to production — it was the same family. So, it was literally coming home to make art together.

Wachowski: Well, half the cast is in the movie… I loved, loved working with them and the vibe of Sense8 was really like, ‘Let’s do everything, you know? Let’s do comedy, and drama, and romance, and action.’ And I think that sort of spilled over into this.

Sommers: It had been two years since Sense8 wrapped in Berlin and Lana had been throwing around the word ‘retirement’ and I couldn’t help but worry, ‘Is it over?’. So, when I got the call, I felt like Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy in the Blues Brothers movie. ‘We’re getting the band back together.’.

Onwumere: It meant the world to me that we could further our collaborative relationship together. And not exclusively the director/actor relationship, but with my fellow actors with whom we all share a similar lexicon in terms of how Lana likes to work and the environment that she creates.

Smith: We kind of joke with each other that Sense8 is the party that never ends, so doing The Matrix together felt like we were just picking up right where we left off, even though we had to figure out how we fit in. We were kind of like a gang of high school freshmen crashing a college party, taking selfies and eating all the free food. We were able to enjoy the experience together of seeing how the 200 million dollar sausage gets made.”

The cancellation of Sense8 was met with petitions to save the show, asking that Netflix provide an explanation as to why the show was canceled despite its positive reception while praising it for its values and diverse cast, highlighting the importance of the representation Sense8 offered on television. In response,  Netflix confirmed the series will receive an extended series finale within a month of its initial cancellation that would tie up any loose ends of the story. Sense8 was also praised by the Emmys and GLAAD, earning multiple award nominations, with the latter awarding it for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series.

With Sense8 being fondly remembered by fans, seeing the cast and crew reunited for The Matrix Resurrections is a welcome surprise. The series offered representation to many in the LGBT+ community who felt unrepresented by most mainstream media. While the series was too expensive for Netflix at the time to continue, it seems Wachowski, the cast, and crew are still close, and hopefully, the reunion seen for The Matrix Resurrections could lead to other future projects together.

Source: ET

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