Hollywood stars painted San Francisco “green” as “The Matrix Resurrections,” the fourth installment in the blockbuster franchise held its U.S. premiere at the Castro Theatre Saturday night.
Many parts of the film were shot in San Francisco and hundreds came out to celebrate the city’s big night.
The event meant a homecoming of sorts for the cast and crew. It was a return to the city where they began filming the fourth installment of the Matrix series, almost two years ago.
Actors Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss attended the premiere, as well as San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
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“For me, it’s so special to be launching from where we also launched making it. It was an event back then for me and it’s a really special event tonight,” Reeves said.
Despite national headlines depicting smash-and-grab robberies and brazen retail thefts, the film’s stars weren’t fazed.
“One, I’m from Detroit. Two, I live in LA. I sleep like a baby in San Francisco,” said actress Ellen Hollman.
Reeves talked to NBC Bay Area about visiting San Francisco again.
“I’m really happy to be here. I love this city,” he said.
Fans who attended the event were also happy to see the film’s stars. But the big question for Breed, who also attended the event: Will the city continue to host large gatherings with the threat of the omicron variant?
“We just gotta wait and see,” Breed said.
Breed tweeted earlier Saturday night a photo of San Francisco City Hall, which was lit in green to celebrate the movie premiere. Other buildings in the city also lit their colors green for the event as they called it the "Light San Francisco Matrix Green Project."
The film opens in all theaters and HBO Max on Wednesday.
