It has been a long time coming, but we finally have the first Matrix: Resurrections trailer, and man is it something to behold. The Matrix was an incredible movie that still stands up 20 years later in both story and visuals and although it was followed by two uneven sequels, the franchise is still inspiring everything from videogame creators to filmmakers today.
With such a cultural icon, we can’t help but think of the Star Wars sequels sith Rey and Finn and what that ultimately did to the reputation of the movies as a whole. The Matrix: Resurrections then knows the responsibility it has to uphold this cornerstone of science fiction. Here are five things you need to know about The Matrix: Resurrections right now.
5. Morpheus is Back…Sorta
If you’ve seen the trailer, you likely noticed it was without series pillar Lawrence Fishbourne. There may be several reasons for that. One is that Morpheus died in The Matrix Online which is considered canon in the series. The other reason is that it appears Yahya Abdul-Maheen II is something of a reincarnation of Morpheus. He talks like him, wears the same iconic sunglasses, and even has a showdown with Neo in a Kung-Fu Dojo, so all signs point to him either being Morpheus 2.0 or perhaps his son.
But why would Morpheus be resurrected? After all, he is not part of the cycle of The One, so what reason would there be that he would need to be brought back. That reason is going to be part of the intrigue of the plot, but it seems like we’re leaning towards a possible version of The Matrix that Neo has created himself and therefore can twist it however he would like.
4. The Blue Pill Was Finally Taken
In one of the most iconic scenes in cinema, Thomas Anderson was asked by Morpheus to take either the Red Pill or the Blue Pill. The Blue Pill famously is what would return him to his everyday life and forget The Matrix existed. Except we all know he takes the Red Pill and becomes Neo. But….what if he didn’t? What if Neo never took the Red Pill and instead put himself on a prescription of Blue Pills so he could convince himself The Matrix wasn’t real.
It’s a stretch, but it is possible we are seeing another version of The Matrix where Neo never took the Red Pill and that could be why we hear him being called Thomas multiple times throughout the trailer. The other reason could be that he is suppressing himself because he knows he is essentially god in this world. This is a plot point that was used in HBO’s The Watchmen where funnily enough, Yahya Abdul Maheen II’s character, Dr. Manhattan has locked himself inside the body of a normal human so that he won’t pose a danger to the world. We could be seeing a similar thing here with Neo.
3. Trinity is Back
The last time we saw Trinity, she was impaled on the business end of a metal pole and it made for one of the most tragic moments in the entire series and arguably one of the only good scenes of The Matrix: Revolutions. She was dead, and not in The Matrix dead but actually dead, yet somehow she appears good as new here, but she doesn’t fully remember Neo when she sees him.
There is the statement by Neo in the trailer that he’s being haunted by bad dreams, so what if what we are seeing isn’t actually The Matrix, but rather one of Neo’s dreams coming to haunt him. Further than that, with a being as powerful as Neo, who seemed to have died or been absorbed into the machines at the end of The Matrix: Revolutions, what if his dreams could be turned into reality? His own Matrix where he has decided to live peacefully until someone or something has come to disrupt it. Trinity seems to be real though even with this possibility as we see her being unplugged from The Matrix during a sped-up montage, so this is a big point of intrigue as well.
2. New Characters
It’s not just the original characters returning as we got a look at some new faces to the franchise as well. Neil Patrick Harris is a particular standout in this trailer as he plays what seems to be an unassuming therapist. As we all know though, nothing in The Matrix is what it seems and the same case seems to be true here. His character is intriguing and what better way for the devious viruses and programs of The Matrix to control the demi-god that is Neo but by controlling his mental state. It’s very possible that he is the one making Neo take the Blue Pills in the trailer and knowing what we know, that points to a potential antagonist. There are several other characters that appear briefly such as two women with short blue and blonde hair and one of them has a fight sequence with Neo in the trailer, though it’s tough to tell if it’s training or something confrontational.
The blue-haired woman played by Jessica Henwick though seems to be acting as a guide for Neo, asking him to follow her into the essential Rabbit Hole of this movie. She appears to be an ally and has some cool fighting sequences shown as well. The other intriguing new character is the man at the end played by Jonathan Groff. If you remember anything about The Matrix, you know that any man sitting in a spinning office chair is someone to be reckoned with. It’s a long shot, but could this be the new architect?
It wouldn’t make sense that he was younger than he was in the previous movies, but considering this could be a whole new Matrix, maybe that would require a whole new architect as well. He very matter-of-factly states that Neo is returning to the Matrix in some fashion, so it’s clear he is a character that knows what’s going on here. While not shown much, we also got a glimpse of some Agents, so something is clearly going wrong in this version of the Matrix. Does that mean a Smith return is on the horizon? There is a very odd scene where Neo looks into the mirror and sees an older man that resembles Smith, so it may be showing us they have become one and the Blue Pills are suppressing both Neo and Smith.
1. Returning to Zion and Some Kick-Ass Action
Everyone’s favorite post-apocalyptic wasteland appears to be making its triumphant return according to brief clips shown throughout the trailer. When we last left Zion, they were on the verge of extinction before Smith absorbed Neo and destroyed them both, causing the machines to stand down and be deactivated. So what happened to Zion then? Did they return to the surface? It doesn’t seem to be the case as we are introduced to some very familiar-looking locations in the brief glimpses we got.
This then begs the question if The Matrix from the first trilogy was ever really destroyed because we got nothing more than a vague conversation between the Architect and the Oracle to end The Matrix: Revolutions. Elsewhere in the trailer, we got some prime ass-kicking Matrix-looking fight sequences and although the effects pioneered decades ago aren’t exactly mind-blowing today, it still looked like some awesome sequences are going to be in store for us. Knowing that Keanu Reeves does all his own stunts these days means we should be seeing some great Kung-Fu action once again and it looks like he, Morpheus, Trinity, and the new characters will all get plenty of chances to show off their action chops in this one.
Though few believed it would actually happen, The Matrix: Resurrections is very real and with the release trailer, there is more intrigue and hype than ever before. The pressure to pull off a soft reboot here is enormous, but when you’ve got most of the original cast and the original director involved, there should be little doubt that this is going to be one hell of a movie.
The Matrix: Resurrections releases December 22nd, 2021, and will be available both in theatres and on HBO Max.
