Keanu as an unrepentant asshole badguy... Would be preeeeeetty unexpected and different.
A friend of mine proposed that the optimal Matrix sequel would be Neo as the bad guy. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I still hope they go that way, but I've also been thinking of alternatives. Especially with some of the few details Keanu just gave, I have some ideas...
Things we can assume for sure:
- It's a sequel and takes place in-universe after the end of Revolutions.
- Neo, the character, is alive again.
- I'm less sure about Trinity, I thought it may be possible she was a Merovingian construct or something, but with the focus on it being a "love story," it seems more likely that they're reuniting Neo and Trinity for real, the concept of permadeath be damned. There is one alternative to Neo/Trinity being the main love focus, which I'll get to in a second...
- Laurence Fishburne has not been cast, so we can also assume that at the very least "present" Morpheus will not be returning.
What's less likely is whether it will reference or acknowledge the "lesser-tier canon" stuff, primarily The Animatrix and The Matrix Online. The Matrix Online is particularly important, since that was supposed to occupy the same "canon" space that the Buffy Season 8/9/etc. comics did for that franchise.
It was also the game that killed the shit out of Morpheus.
Now, if The Matrix 4 is building on The Matrix Online and treating it as canon, then Laurence Fishburne not even being asked to come back makes sense. And that's a huge bummer for Morpheus fans. But all may not be lost.
Say hello... to Morpheus' son.
One thing to note is that the franchise has already done the "new black character related to the died-offscreen character from the previous film" with the Tank/Dozer -> Link transition.
We know Niobe is back.
Following back up on my notes about the Neo/Trinity romance not necessarily being center stage, I think it may be that a lost-his-way Morpheus Jr. takes the starring role, with Neo and Trinity possibly being more secondary/mentor roles.
This is all speculation based on very few tidbits and scraps from casting, but hey that's all we have right now.
Regarding The Animatrix/The Matrix Online, I accept that it's also just as likely Lana forgets all that shit and directly contradicts all of it six-ways-to-Sunday in the effort of telling what she thinks is a stronger story. We'll probably need to wait until the trailer to even begin speculating for real.