1999 Sci-Fi Hit Wanted Sandra Bullock for Gender-Swapped Concept - What If?

What if the Sandra Bullock movie that preceded Miss Congeniality were a science-fiction sensation known as The Matrix?

More than 25 years later, the movie remains an all-time favorite for many cinephiles around the world. And it was confirmed by a producer back in 2019 - AKA the iconic film's 20th anniversary - that Bullock, 61, was actually considered for the role of Neo before Keanu Reeves. Who would have thought?

"We went out to so many people I don't remember. We were getting desperate," producer Lorenzo di Bonaventuratold TheWrap. "We went to Sandy Bullock and said ‘We'll change Neo to a girl.' [Producer] Joel Silver and I worked with Sandy on Demolition Man, and she was and continues to be a very good friend of mine. It was pretty simple. We sent her the script to see if she was interested in it. And if she was interested in it we would try to make the change."

Di Bonaventura, 69, continued, "The first movie star who says yes is Brad Pitt. He's doing Seven Years in Tibet, and then he's coming out of it, and he's like, ‘I'm way too exhausted to take this on.' So, he's gone. Then, we go to Leonardo [DiCaprio]. He says yes, we have meetings with him and then he goes, ‘You know, I can't go do another visual effects movie having just finished Titanic, and he drops out. Then Will Smith joins it, and he drops out."

Smith, 57, talked about turning the role down in a YouTube video amid the film's 20-year milestone, per Vanity Fair, saying he mainly passed because of how the Wachowskis pitched their vision for The Matrix.

"As it turns out, they're geniuses," Smith said in his upload. "But there's a fine line in a pitch meeting between genius and what I experienced in the meeting."

Smith proceeds to mimic the filmmakers' pitching style to help prove his point - but said there are no hard feelings and that "Keanu was perfect" in the end result.

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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 11:24 AM.