Start stretching for some gravity-defying backbends: after years of hype, The Matrix Resurrections is almost here. Ahead of its release in cinemas on Boxing Day, here’s what we know — and what remains a mystery.
Since the original trilogy wrapped up in 2003, The Matrix‘s director-writer sister duo “the Wachowskis” were repeatedly reluctant to make another film, despite the public demand. So, the most obvious question about Resurrections is ‘why now?’. While Lilly sat this film out as she was busy making her show Work In Progress, Lana felt compelled to return to the Matrix world after their parents passed away in 2019.
“One night, I woke up, and I was in a lot of pain, and in the grief that I was experiencing with my parents dying, my brain wanted to imagine a story that would be soothing,” she said in a public statement. “And so, these two characters that were dead, my brain, one night, just resurrected them and brought them to life — Neo and Trinity. And I immediately responded to this hook of an idea that I woke up with, and I went downstairs and I just started writing it.”
Voilà! The script itself is under tight wraps, but we know that Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith are all returning to their roles from the original trilogy.
The cast is also stacked with new stars, including Neil Patrick Harris, Yahya Adul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. And behind the scenes, Wachowski worked with a crew mostly all from Sense8, the sisters’ acclaimed Netflix series. It’s in good hands.
We’ve learnt a little more from the film’s two trailers. On a steady diet of blue pills, Thomas Anderson (Reeves) now lives a regular life in San Francisco with no recollection of his past as Neo, a hacker who broke free from the Matrix simulation. He does not recognize Tiffany aka Trinity (Moss), though a vague connection is there, and he is plagued by troubled dreams – or are they memories? – that he chats through with his therapist (Harris).
But when Morpheus (now played by Abdul-Mateen II) offers him a red pill, he re-awakens to the truth — and enters a glitchy world with new and old allies, including a blue-haired hacker named Bugs (Henwick).
Suddenly, there’s a lot of action: motorcycle chases, train explosions, Trinity fist-fighting with SWAT teams, and Neo breaks out reality-bending moves. Thomas’ business partner (Groff) also starts to mimic Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), using his iconic greeting of “Mister Anderson”.
Who knows where to from there, but from interviews, Reeves, Moss and Wachowski all describe the film as a very emotional experience. “There were a few times where we’d both just start crying, because it’s so deeply moving for us, Neo and Trinity,” says Moss. “We love them.”
See for yourself in an interview with the cast and director below, where they characterise The Matrix as a love story between the two, with Moss saying it “felt effortless” to return — if anything, Wachowski says that the depth of feeling is “only possible because of the time that has passed.”
Okay, so in addition to pre-cinema stretching, you might need to bring some tissues, too. Head down the rabbit hole and catch The Matrix Resurrections, only in cinemas from Boxing Day.
