Neo and Trinity both died in the final installment of the original Matrix trilogy nearly two decades ago, but that doesn’t stop Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss from reprising these iconic roles in The Matrix: Resurrections, hitting theaters and HBO Max Dec. 22.
Obviously one can assume based on the title of the film that the characters’ re-emergence is central to the plot. But if you’re looking for concrete info on what the fourth installment of the groundbreaking sci-fi franchise is truly about based on the new trailer that just dropped, you’ll have to follow the white rabbit a bit further down the rabbit hole.
We meet a scraggly-haired Thomas Anderson/Neo who seems to have scattered visions of his prior life. We see him undergo psychoanalysis from a character played by Neal Patrick Harris. Priyanka Chopra’s character seems not unlike The Oracle of the prior trilogy while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays a mentor not dissimilar to Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus. The familiar mixes with the new as imagery of blue pills, red pills, human batteries, at least one black cat and the franchise’s signature martial-arts choreography fill the frame. Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” plays because, you know, Alice in Wonderland. It all looks slick and promising, giving hope to fans who have been clamoring for a fourth film for a long time now.
I loved the original film, but was underwhelmed by The Matrix: Reloaded and The Matrix: Revolutions, both of which seemed to buckle under the weight of their exhausting digital/social/theological philosophizing. Now that we’re living in an age ruled by smartphones and the urge to be constantly “plugged in,” I’m curious to see how director Lana Wachowski modernizes and expands on the Matrix universe when Resurrections drops this Christmas.
Until then, check out (and endlessly dissect) the trailer below!