It’s been 18 years since we last saw Neo and Trinty in 2003’s Matrix Revolutions. Now, along with series co-creator and director Lana Wachowski, they have returned.
The first thing we can take away from the trailer is that our heroes have no recollection of the events of the previous film. Mr. Thomas Anderson aka Neo (Keanu Reeves) believes he is having visions of another life, but he can’t quite place them. He even meets the love of his life, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and fails to recall who she is.
Let's take a moment and recall the last film. Neo had sacrificed himself in order to reboot the Matrix, bringing the illusions to him as a Christ figure full-circle. He allowed this sacrifice to happen so, the Matrix would still exist, but humans would be allowed to leave should they make that decision. It was supposed to be the great peace between man and machine. Now, with The Matrix: Resurrections launching in theaters for Christmas on December 22nd, 2021, Neo has returned.
Outside of returning faces like Reeves, Moss, and Director Wachowski, there are a lot of new faces. New to the cast are actors Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, and Neil Patrick Harris. We get to see them in various roles here; Harris looks to be playing Mr. Anderson’s therapist, while Abdul-Mateen II might be playing a new version of Morpheus. Even with all these new cast members mixed in, this first trailer recalls a lot of the action in the first movie.
We have Neo following the white rabbit, choosing between red and blue pills, the literal ‘Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit’ song over the trailer, and a call back to the dojo fight between Neo and Morpheus. All these pieces are callbacks. In one way, it almost feels like a remake of the original Matrix film. There are plenty of more secrets in the trailer, for sure. Even the still image above of Neo outside a hotel matches the first shot we see in The Matrix.
Obviously, there is only so much we can gather from a three-minute trailer, but Wachowski seems to be rebuilding her universe after almost two decades away from the material. The original Matrix trilogy had some of the best action scenes of all time and we don’t see too much of that revealed here. The first two sequels in The Matrix trilogy left something to be desired, but after all this time, I’m really excited to see a new film in this universe. Stay locked in here for more coverage of The Matrix: Resurrections as we get closer to launch.
The Matrix: Resurrections launching in theaters and HBO Max for Christmas on December 22nd, 2021.