‘Matrix’ Director Furious After Hollywood Rejects All-Trans Cast

Lilly Wachowski, co-director of *The Matrix* franchise, says Hollywood is refusing to finance her new political thriller *The Hunted* because it features a “wall-to-wall trans cast.” The project carries a relatively modest $10 million budget yet has drawn no studio interest despite positive reactions to the script.

Speaking on KCRW’s *The Business* podcast, Wachowski stated: “People like it, but they really don’t want to make it because it’s [got a] wall-to-wall trans cast. I have to get creative and figure out different ways that I can get this in front of people.”

She co-wrote the dystopian story with her partner Mickey Ray Mahoney. Wachowski described the script as “extremely important for me to write” and “a response to what is happening in the world for trans people,” calling it a “hugely cathartic receptacle to dump all of my anger and rage and frustration into.”

The film is in development through her Anarchists United banner and Natasha Lyonne’s Ariadne studio. Rather than abandon the project, Wachowski recently staged a live table read at Los Angeles’ Dynasty Typewriter theater as an alternative way to share the story.

Wachowski, who came out as transgender in 2016, has long framed her work through themes of identity and transformation. Industry observers note the broader cooling of appetite for certain identity-focused projects amid shifting audience and financial realities.

The director maintains she will find creative paths forward even if traditional studio financing remains closed.