The Matrix 4, best known as Matrix Resurrections, is an upcoming sci-fi cyberpunk movie set to be released in theaters and on HBO streaming platforms on the 22nd of December 2021. The highly anticipated blockbuster is a continuation, or at least that is what fans think, of the earlier three installments of the Matrix Series.
Initially, after the making of the Matrix Revolution, the Wachowski's had no intention of releasing another film and instead billed the Online Matrix Video game to inherit and continue the story line. However, now we await a new film in continuation of the Matrix Franchise. There are a lot of mixed reactions evolving around the new Matrix 4 on whether or not it will break or make the series. In this article we have summed up all the details leading to the much awaited Four-quel. Let's take a dive in.
Plot
The storyline behind Matrix 4 has remained a complete mystery. However, the plot of the film is expected to revolve around Neo's truce with the Machine. Some speculations had circulated that the film would incorporate time travel, but Reeves quickly debunked them.
One of Neo's ultimatum for the Machines as the series came to an end was that all humans who rejected the Matrix would be released from the simulation. Not only would this restore humanity's freedom, but it would also ensure that the Matrix could continue to function at its best without needing to reboot every century. The Matrix 4 could signal the end of this cease-fire and the start of a new Machine War.
Production
Filming for the The Matrix Revolutions began in San Francisco under the code name 'Project Ice Cream' and was later moved to Germany, as a result of production inconveniences on the City, then finally Chicago.
The film is written by Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon all of whom were part of the original trilogies.
The Cast
The earlier Matrix cast should be expected back with only but a few changes and add-ons. Several actors will be reprising their roles and a few faces have also been introduced. Here is the list:
Keanu Reeves as Neo
The Matrix could not have been a franchise without Keanu Reeves in it, would it? Reeves will be making his fourth appearance in the Matrix Resurrections as Neo this time ardoned with his classic John Wick look.
Keanu Reeves as Neo
Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity
Fans will be delighted to know that the beloved Moss will be reprising her role as Trinity. The Canadian actress has had the role since the first trilogy: The Matrix (1999)
Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity
Laurence Fishburne and Yahya Abdul Mateen as Morpheus
The Morpheus character which was long played, in the first, second and third Matrix installments, by industry icon Laurence Fishburne will be taken over by Yahya Abdul Mateen for reasons unknown to the franchise.
However, Fishburne being left out of the Matrix Resurrections may not entirely be an oversight if the trailer is anything to go by. If you have seen the newly dropped trailer, a young Morpheus is featured which makes Yahya a better candidate for the role compared to Laurence.
The body of Morpheus was on display in the Sobra Shores Church, where it exploded in flies. However, his recent appearance in the Matrix has led to the conclusion that he is not dead. This further begs the question concerning the movie's timeline.
Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in the Original Trilogy
Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe
Talented Jada Pinkett will also be making an appearance in the Matrix 4. Although her appearance was not featured in the trailer, it has been confirmed tht she will be in the film as Niobe.
Other actors include Jessica Henwick as Bugs, Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian among others who have been cast in undisclosed roles.
Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe
Recap
If you are yet to watch the eye-popping movie installments in the Matrix Franchise or maybe you have and the details are a little bit foggy -after all it has been almost two decades since the original trilogy -Now is a good time to take a look back and see what transpired in the last film and how those events will pan out in the series' new sequel.
Here is a full recap of the three Matrix Movies released in 1999 and 2003 respectively;
The Matrix 1
Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving star in The Matrix, a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving. It is the first film in The Matrix series of films, comics, video games, and animation, and was released in the United States on March 31, 1999. In the technical categories, the picture won four Academy Awards.
The film depicts a future in which people view reality as the Matrix, a virtual environment constructed by sentient Machines to quiet and dominate the human population by using their bodies' heat and electrical activity as an energy source. When a computer programmer learns this, they are ecstatic.
The story follows Machines that were built in the early twenty-first century and have taken control of the Earth's surface since then. The Machines grabbed humans to use their bioelectric energy as a power source after the humans clouded the sky to cut off their solar power. The "Matrix" - a simulation of the world in 1999 – is used to keep enslaved beings quiet. Neo has been a part of this synthetic world since he was a child and later meets up with Morpheus, one of the free humans roaming the earth in an effort to free others.
Morpheus is a Zion agent who fights the Machines as part of the city's defense force. The Nebuchadnezzar, his hovercraft, is significantly less armed than its sister vessel. The "Neb," like other hovercraft, is equipped with an EMP weapon to neutralize any sentinels they come across.
Morpheus (his name as a bluepill within the Matrix still unkown) is a well-mannered man with a demeanor that inspires admiration in those who meet him. Morpheus devotes "all of his life" in quest of The One, the destined human who would put an end to the Machine War, as a result of his trust in the prophecy.
Although Morpheus believes the year is closer to 2199, no one knows for sure. Morpheus says that he and his crew are members of a group of "unplugged" humans who "unplug" individuals from the Matrix and recruit them to join their fight against the Machines.
Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Reloaded was produced six months after the second installment: a period during which the video game, Enter The Matrix, and eight other short story animations were released to support and continue the Matrix plot. Basically, Matrix Reloaded was meant purposefully to complete the Matrix Franchise storyline.
Everything is about to come to a standstill as Reloaded begins. The battle between resistance and machines is heating up as Sentinels begin to drill into Zion: an underground city where all the emancipated people live. Also we soon find that the Matrix's natural cycle is also coming to an end.
Meanwhile, an increasingly powerful Neo is having premonitions about Trinity dying. He seeks help from the Oracle who informs him that he must reach the Matrix's 'Source. Zion is besieged by the Machine Army in the second chapter of the Matrix trilogy. Only hours before 250,000 Sentinels demolish Earth's last human enclave—and its rising resistance—Neo and Trinity decide to return to the Matrix alongside Morpheus, unleashing their arsenal of superhuman talents and weaponry against the forces of repression and exploitation.
Now, at the crossroads of love and truth, faith and knowledge, purpose and reason, Neo must stay on course if he is to save humanity from the dreadful catastrophe that haunts his dreams -The Matrix Reloaded.
Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions primarily deals with the fallout of Neo’s choice at the end of Reloaded – not only are the machines still on their way to destroy Zion, but Neo has to work out how to save everybody in the Matrix, avoid the extinction of the human race, and deal with the fact that a murderous Agent Smith is now running around in the real world trapped in a human.
It does, frankly, get off to a slow start. While Neo’s comatose body is in the real world, his mind is somewhere else – a limbo-like place between the Matrix and reality, a train station called Mobil Ave.
Morpheus and Trinity are informed by the Oracle that Neo is stuck in Mobil Avenue. The Trainman is pursued by Seraph, Morpheus, and Trinity in an attempt to obtain Neo's release, but he manages to flee. The trio enters Club Hel to face Merovingian for Neo's release who demands "the eyes of the Oracle" in exchange. Trinity answers by forcing the Merovingian to release Neo under duress, with mutual death as the alternative.
Neo resolves to visit the Oracle before returning to the actual world since he is troubled by new visions of the Machine City. The Oracle tells him that when he went to the matrix as the One, he developed a link with the Source: the Machine mainframe which is also responsible for the Matrix and the rest of the Machine world. As a result, we find out that this connection is the source of all of Neo's talents, both within and outside the Matrix (the exact nature of this connection remains unkown to date).
Neo realizes that he has the capacity to view machine source code in the actual world, allowing him to "see" and destroy Bane. This is how Neo was able to stop the robots from pursuing him after the Nebuchadnezzar was destroyed in The Matrix Reloaded, despite the fact that his lack of preparedness resulted in him being temporarily imprisoned in Mobil Avenue.
Takeaways from the Recently Released Trailer
Finally, the Matrix 4 trailer dropped and fans are in a frenzy. While most expected it to answer questions from the original three film sets, the trailer instead opened up more questions than it did the former. So what does the trailer have to depict concerning Neo, Trinity and the struggle for humanity.
The trailer gives us a better idea of what to expect from Matrix: Resurrections. Neo appears to be confined in a dull existence in a near-future San Francisco, similar to the beginning of The Matrix. "Have we met?" she asks him as he runs into Trinity in a cafe.
The clip cuts to several Matrix action sequences in various acts. Neo is clearly transported back into the Matrix in some way, but the trailer doesn't go into detail about why or how he realizes he's the version of himself we saw in the first trilogy. We just get a few Alice in Wonderland allusions instead.
The First Wachowski solo project
Lana Wachowski is back in the director's seat, but this time without Lilly Wachowski. This is the first time in their careers that the filmmakers are taking different artistic paths. The Matrix films have always been collaborative efforts between the two minds, so it will be interesting to see how this resurrection unfolds now that half of the prior equation is missing.
At the very least, the teaser gives little reason to be concerned about Lana's ability to match the series' elegant sensibilities. While the idea of creating another Matrix did not appeal to Lilly, other important members of the franchise had no qualms about returning.
Why did Lilly Wachowski not partake in the Matrix Resurrection project?
The top rated filmmaker and producer is now working on the Showtime series Work in Progress as the showrunner, executive producer, writer, and director. She recently told Entertainment Weekly that after her transition and the death of her parents, she spent a lot of time reconnecting with herself.
Conclusion
The Matrix trilogy, which ended in 2003 with Matrix Revolutions, grossed a total of $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office. The trilogy concluded with a truce between humans and machines, allowing humans to escape the Matrix completely.
Neo and Trinity, on the other hand, perished in the end film—Trinity in a hovercraft crash, and Neo after his battle with Agent Smith. Though Neo is suggested to return at the conclusion, it's unclear how Reeves and Moss will reprise their roles in a sequel. We can only sit back and wait for Lana Wachowski to do her thing. 😉
Matrix Resurrections in Theaters and HBO on December 22, 2021
About The Author
Innocent Odima
University of Nairobi Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), English Literature
