- guardian.co.uk, Friday April 4 2003 00.56 BST
Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss
Four years after The Matrix dazzled movie-goers and booked Keanu Reeves's place in the pantheon of sci-fi superheroes, the sequel is set to unveil at next month's Cannes Film Festival.
Matrix Reloaded, Warner Bros' eagerly awaited sequel and the middle section to the Wachowski Brothers' trilogy, will play out of competition on the Croisette. It will open in the US and several other countries on the same day.
Studio executives will be keeping their fingers crossed that Matrix Reloaded can outperform the success of the original, which grossed more than $450m in worldwide ticket sales.
Reeves reunites on screen with Matrix stars Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss to battle the evil probes that are threatening to destroy mankind. Will Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith is a new addition.
The third and final part of the series, The Matrix Revolutions, will be released worldwide in November. Matrix Reloaded will open in the UK on May 23.
