Quoted from bemmett:I'd be all for a The Matrix pin, kind of surprises me no one ever did one. I'd be totally fine with it being off just the original trilogy.
The entire package... story, art and sound/music all lend themselves to pinball and at the time a straight up blockbuster with broad appeal across both typical pinball demographics and the general public. The high level design practically writes itself. I think most people with no interest in the theme themselves would agree.
The movie came out in '99 as the industry utterly imploded. The prime time to start designing it would have been while the 2nd and 3rd movies were in production in 2000-2003. If it had come out in '94 or '04 we would have seen at least one.
I just assume every designer who was active in the 90s till now rolled it around in their head enough that they have an elevator pitch if they ever get asked to do it, and I'm sure several dusted it off again when the impending 4th movie was announced.
Right up to the end of the 90s pins based on action and scifi movies were all over the place. DE and Sega were churning them out and B/W doing quite a few as well including Williams last gasp with the Episode 1 Pinball2K.
Stern 2.0 was finding it's way on smaller licenses and it wasn't clear yet they would survive, let alone handle a license that big. In 2003 the latter 2 movies came out. That same year Stern delivered 3 huge licenses in TSPP, LOTR and Terminator 3. They were clearly capable of it at that point, but with the more mixed reception of the later 2 films and no more on the horizon the prime window was closed.
The 4th movie 20 years later isn't a guaranteed pin with all the manufacturers unable to keep up with their current licenses and the uncertainty of how the movie will be received but it's surely being discussed if someone hasn't secured the license and started on it already.