a nihilist, which eventually culminates in his statement that the purpose of life is to end, and crediting Neo's life for his determining this. During his final showdown with Neo, Smith angrily dismisses causes such as freedom, truth, peace, and love as simply human attempts to justify a meaningless and purposeless existence, and is completely unable to comprehend why Neo continues to fight him despite the knowledge that he cannot win. The Wachowskis have commented that Smith's gradual humanization throughout The Matrix is a process intended to mirror and balance Neo's own increasing power and understanding of the machine world. A writer at The Guardian commented that Smith seems to enjoy his job too much. Portrayal French actor Jean Reno was originally offered the role of Agent Smith in The Matrix, but he declined as he was at one point of his career in which he did not want to leave his native France, unwilling to move to Australia for a four-and-a-half months shooting. Hugo Weaving was ultimately cast as Smith. According to Weaving, he enjoyed playing the character because it amused him. He went to develop a neutral accent but with more specific character for the role. He wanted Smith to sound neither human nor robotic. He also said that the Wachowskis' voices influenced his voice in the film. When filming for The Matrix began, Weaving mentioned that he was excited to be a part of something that would extend him. Following the announcement that Warner Bros. was planning a relaunch of The Matrix franchise, Hugo Weaving stated that he was open to reprising the role but only if the Wachowskis were involved. In 2019, The Matrix Resurrections was confirmed for a 2021 release, but Weaving would not be returning. Originally, Weaving was approached to reprise the role by Lana Wachowski, but he had scheduling conflicts with his involvement in Tony Kushner's theatrical adaptation of The Visit, leading Wachowski to conclude that the dates would not work and write him out from the film. Jonathan Groff was cast to replace Weaving in the role, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II portraying a version of Smith inside a modal created by Neo. Design All Agents (other than Agents Perry and Pace from The Matrix Online game, and the modal version of Agent Smith that becomes Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections) are white males, as opposed to the population of Zion, which contains