During the 90s, the Matrix franchise started off a trilogy of films that wound up taking the world by storm. Sure, the quality waned as the films went on, but there is no denying that the world was interested in seeing how things would shake out with Neo and his fight to save what’s left of the real world.
Marcus Chong was featured as Tank in the first movie, but once the sequels rolled around, fans quickly noticed that the actor was missing. This came as a surprise, as the survivors from the first film returned, with Chong being the lone exception.
So, why was Marcus Chong missing from the Matrix sequels? Turns out, there is a lot more going on here than some realize.
Marcus Chong Played Tank In The Matrix
Landing a supporting role in a smash hit film has to be an amazing feeling, as some actors will spend years in the business before ever getting a break. For Marcus Chong, a role in The Matrix was a huge chance to be part of a franchise of films that had amazing box office potential.
Released back in 1999, The Matrix was a film that changed the game for action movies moving forward. Not only did the movie utilize an interesting and seemingly original story, but the special effects used in the film were nothing short of groundbreaking during that time. Sure, the effects would go on to be parodied a ton in other flicks, but most of us can tell you where we were the first time we saw Neo dodge bullets.
Marcus Chong was cast as the character Tank in the film. No, Tank was not a primary player in the way that Neo or Morpheus was, but he was an awesome secondary character that fans genuinely loved. Chong brought an emotional depth to the role that highlighted the sacrifices that people were having to make outside of the Matrix and in the real world.
After the success of the first film, it was time for the sequels to get made, but this is when things began to unravel for Chong’s time in the franchise.
His Negotiations Got Him Fired
Marcus Chong was all set to return for the film’s two sequels, but there was just one problem: he wanted more money and a lot more exposure. Now, originally, he was to be paid $400,000 for both films, which isn’t too bad. However, Marcus Chong wanted to get nearly triple this amount for a cool $1 million. On top of that, he also wanted to get the same type of publicity as the film’s stars. This eventually sparked off a chain of events that saw the actor removed from the franchise altogether.
Once negotiations broke down, things got ugly between Chong and the Wachowskis, and the actor was eventually arrested for making some serious threats to the siblings.
“I called [the Wachowskis] on their voicemail and I said, 'Hey [Lana and Lily], if you send anyone to my home to f****** harm me, I will come and kill you and your [sister],” he revealed in an interview.
In the lawsuit the actor subsequently filed, he claimed that the Wachowskis “intentionally publishing numerous false statements … that he was a terrorist,” per People.
In a 2016 interview, Chong would say, “They wanted to starve me out, hold all my money, take all my residuals, not give me any pension credit, not give me any health credit, and I was upset because I had worked for Warner Bros. when I was 10 years old in Roots, so they had a long relationship with me.”
What He’s Been Up To Since
After the fallout of the negotiation and Chong’s subsequent arrest, his character was promptly written out of the franchise and was mentioned in passing during the franchise’s second film. This was the final nail in the coffin for Chong’s involvement in the franchise, and his character was subsequently forgotten about.
Ever since losing his spot in the Matrix franchise, Chong has continued to work, through he was not able to truly capitalize on the success that the franchise found. Being in a successful movie usually opens plenty of doors, but these doors slammed in the actor’s face after his dispute with Warner Bros.
According to IMDb, the performer has appeared in projects like Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Crow: Wicked Prayer, Numb3rs, and Burn Notice since his time as Tank. These were smaller roles and they came nowhere close to matching the exposure that he gained in The Matrix.
Failed negotiations happen, but an actor threatening violence and being arrested after trying to nearly triple their pay doesn’t happen all that often in Hollywood.