Bad news, Matrix fans: Warner Bros. isn’t going to be releasing The Matrix Resurrections early on HBO Max like it did for Dune. Instead, the highly anticipated fourth film in The Matrix franchise will make its streaming debut on December 22nd at 3:01AM ET / 12:01AM PT — meaning you’ll either have to stay up pretty late to catch the movie when it first comes out or (more sensibly) wait until Wednesday night.
The news isn’t entirely surprising given that HBO Max usually releases new episodes and movies at 3:01AM ET (or the equivalent time in other time zones) the date that they come out. Still, the company has broken its pattern a few times when it comes to major HBO Max releases: Dune, as noted earlier, hit the service a few hours ahead of its October 22nd release date by streaming at 6PM ET the night before, while Wonder Woman 1984 got a slightly later release time by debuting at 12PM ET on Christmas Day last year.
That said, unlike Dune (which also hit theaters the night before its “official” release date), The Matrix Resurrections doesn’t appear to be offering early Tuesday night screenings in theaters either, meaning that no matter whether you’re looking to see the upcoming sequel on the big screen or streamed on your couch, you’ll have to wait until Wednesday, December 22nd rolls around.
Practically speaking, though, if you’re looking to remain spoiler-free until you have time to see The Matrix Resurrections, you might want to try and stay off Twitter on Wednesday.
