Ewan McGregor’s complicated relationship with ‘The Matrix’
Of the many actors who gained a significant following in the 1990s, including Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, Ewan McGregor was one of the most promising names. Working with British filmmaker Danny Boyle on indie hits Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, McGregor earned a role in George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel series in 1999, starring as fan favourite Obi-Wan Kenobi.
His role as a smart-talking apprentice-turned-master in Lucas’ trilogy would inspire the minds of fans and fellow film studios worldwide, highlighting his own natural charm and likeability. For this exact set of skills, the actor was considered for the lead role of Neo in the Wachowski sisters’ revolutionary science fiction flick The Matrix, coming out the same year as the much-anticipated space-opera sequel.
Considerably outperforming Star Wars both critically and commercially thanks to its visionary storytelling and technical innovations, The Matrix sparked a contemporary phenomenon that would continue to overshadow Lucas’ series for a few more years at least. McGregor could have been the last one laughing at this if he had managed to secure the role of Neo in The Matrix, but, likely due to contract difficulties, he couldn’t take up the part.
Rueing his missed opportunity, McGregor had to watch as The Matrix gathered steam in the early 21st century, with back-to-back sequels in 2003, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, even causing problems for his other independent movies.
Taking $741.8 million worldwide, the success of the second movie massively outperformed the first, causing a cultural revolution in the process that largely overshadowed any other movie being released in 2003. Unfortunately for McGregor, his cheeky romantic comedy, Down with Love, directed by Ant-Man’s Peyton Reed and co-starring Renee Zellweger, was due for release in May 2003 and in the running to be damaged by the Matrix’s incessant charge.
Despite the romantic comedy that satirised sexist 1960s dramas being surprisingly great, it failed to gather any sort of momentum, with the movie earning a measly $20 million domestically and only around $20 million more worldwide. Failing to gain commercial or critical love, the film is now considered something of a cult classic, helped by the success of Reed in the contemporary Marvel universe.
On paper, the idea of offering up Down with Love as a light alternative to The Matrix’s hectic energy was a good idea, but the might of the Wachowski movies was simply too much, leading McGregor to suffer as a result of his previous missed opportunity.
Still, having worked with some of cinema’s most acclaimed directors, including Ridley Scott, Roman Polanski, Todd Haynes, Danny Boyle, George Lucas, Baz Luhrmann and Tim Burton, we doubt McGregor is too annoyed that he missed out on the blockbuster franchise. What’s more, whilst the Matrix series has slowly ebbed away with a disappointing guff, Star Wars remains strong, and Obi-Wan Kenobi is a favourite.
