Danny Boyle has signed on to direct a stage adaptation of The Matrix, which will incorporate hip hop dance choreography into its production. The theatrical production of the Oscar-winning sci-fi action movie, which is a Warner Bros. Theater Ventures-licensed project, is named Free Your Mind, Variety is reporting.
The Matrix‘s stage adaptation from the Academy Award-winning filmmaker is scheduled to open on October 2023 at the new Manchester, U.K. arts venue, Factory International. Free Your Mind, which is being described as a large-scale immersive performance, will serve as the venue’s inaugural show.
“Combining the hip-hop choreography of hundreds of dancers with the latest immersive design, Free Your Mind will take audiences on a thrilling journey through The Matrix and into a new realm of possibilities,” the stage adaptation’s logline states. “This eye-opening production will stretch across the building’s ultra-flexible spaces, responding to them and harnessing the collective energy of the moment.”
Free Your Mind‘s music is being composed by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante, while Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy is choreographing the dance routines. Poet/playwright Sabrina Mahfouz and artist Es Devlin are writing and providing large-scale sculptures for the theatrical production, respectively.
Boyle’s longtime collaborator Tracey Seaward will produce Free Your Mind. The show was commissioned by Factory International.
The movie version of The Matrix, which starred Keanu Reeves, was first released in 1999. The Wachowskis directed the first three installments of the franchise together. Lana Wachowski then went on to co-write, helm and produce the series’ third sequel, The Matrix Resurrections, which was released last year, on her own.
Before signing on to direct Free Your Mind, Boyle most recently helmed the FX on Hulu biographical drama miniseries, Pistol. The show chronicles the rise and fall of the English punk rock band, Sex Pistols.
