‘The Matrix’ Co-Director Lilly Wachowski Says Hollywood Won’t Fund Her New $10M Thriller Over Its Trans Representation

Lilly Wachowski is trying to find a way to bring her next movie, The Hunted, to audiences after struggling to secure financing for the project.

The filmmaker, best known for co-directing The Matrix with her sister Lana Wachowski, says Hollywood has shown interest in the thriller but has been unwilling to put up the money needed to make it. According to Wachowski, the main issue is the movie’s focus on trans characters.

Speaking on KCRW’s The Business podcast last Friday, Wachowski said studios and other potential backers have responded positively to the script but still do not want to make the film.

“People like it, but they really don’t want to make it because it’s [got a] wall-to-wall trans cast,” Wachowski said. The Hunted has a reported budget of around $10 million and is currently being developed through Anarchists United and Natasha Lyonne’s Ariadne banner. Wachowski co-wrote the project with her partner, Mickey Ray Mahoney.

Rather than giving up on the movie, Wachowski has started looking for other ways to get it made. She recently organized a live table read of the script at Los Angeles’ Dynasty Typewriter theater, with the event taking place on Aug. 7 and 8.

For Wachowski, the movie is also much more personal than a typical directing project. She said writing the script gave her a way to respond to the current situation facing trans people and express some of the anger and frustration she has felt.

“This is a script that was extremely important for me to write,” she said. “It was a response to what is happening in the world for trans people, and it gave me a hugely cathartic receptacle to dump all of my anger and rage and frustration into.”

Despite the problems finding financing, Wachowski appears determined to keep the project alive. The table read also gave her a chance to celebrate the trans community and the people involved with the film.

“I’m just going to go out and I’m going to grab that trans joy with all of my friends,” she explained. “It’s not the thing that I had imagined it was going to be, but the end result is the same.”

The comments come at a time when filmmakers continue to face difficult decisions about which projects studios are willing to finance. For an independent thriller with a reported $10 million price tag, finding the right financial partner can already be challenging. Wachowski’s comments suggest that The Hunted is facing an additional hurdle because of its subject matter and casting.

Wachowski has a long history of making projects that explore identity, technology and people living outside traditional social norms. She and Lana first made a major impact with 1999’s The Matrix before returning for two sequels. Together, they also directed Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas and Jupiter Ascending.

The Hunted would mark another very personal project for Wachowski, but its future remains uncertain until financing is secured. For now, she appears determined to find another path rather than abandon the film.

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