Had The Matrix series been released today, we’d have had about a dozen or so sequels in commission. However, the series has been done since 2003, although fans still have questions aplenty over its finale. Sixteen years later, with many franchises seeing revivals, a new Matrix movie could be released to answer our questions.
The Matrix Revolutions unfortunately opened up a lot of questions, and made the storyline more convoluted than it had been previously. Over the years, the confusion and resultant assumptions have only amplified. Here are some of the most popular questions fans still have.
Did The Peace Treaty Last?
The machines aren't people, and honoring deals isn’t something that is part of their thinking. They were simply going with the only course of action that would rid them of Smith: agreeing with Neo. After Smith’s deletion, the machines were once more free to prey upon the world.
While they let Zion go at the end of The Matrix Revolutions, over time the machines must have seen growth coming from the settlement. The machines must also have estimated the likelihood of another resistance, and odds are they would have broken the deal. So, if we do get another sequel, we might just find out if the truce was honored by either party. Chances are, it wasn’t.
What Happened With Neo's Body?
The machines seemed to have developed a level of respect for Neo after he saved everyone by enabling them to destroy Smith. When last we saw him, his body was being carried away for what seemed like a respectful burial – although, it’s more likely if he was laid to rest, they would’ve used his body as a resource.
Since we’re not sure if Neo was given a funeral, the machines could instead have conducted a kind of autopsy to better understand how humans work. A follow-up story has potential to show machines using this as an advantage to preserve the humans they have in the Matrix. For the time being, we’re still wondering what became of Neo’s body.
How Is the Rebooted Matrix Going?
In the end, the Matrix was rebooted and we had another lame speech from the Architect (thankfully, this one was brief), with the Oracle now “believing” the future would be optimistic. But the fact remains that people are still being kept in the Matrix without their knowledge, and nothing’s really changed from the first Matrix film.
So, what’s been going on now in the revived Matrix? Are people from Zion still entering and attempting to get people to escape? Is the Matrix itself a more vibrant world that acknowledges human thoughts and feelings? We'd also like to know if the technology within the Matrix has been upgraded to the 2019 world like ours, or if it's still stuck in 1999.
Is Smith Really Dead?
Sure, we saw him being deleted after that great power surge from the Deus Ex Machina into Neo when Smith had him in possession, but Neo had also jumped inside Smith in The Matrix and seemingly destroyed him back then. The antagonist then returned using a loophole in The Matrix Reloaded.
Should there be a sequel, the directors can’t expect us to just accept that Smith is dead; we need to see proof of this. Plus, if another film is made, it’s hard to imagine another villain other than Smith, and in this scenario, we’d need an explanation how he survived.
How Does Possession Work?
Bane became “possessed” by Smith when the latter assimilated him within the Matrix. In the real world, the Smith-Bane would carry out his plans to take over the world, before Neo was able to stop and kill him. We saw this Smith-Bane being completely taken over by the antagonist’s personality, but what one has to consider is that the brain did belong to Bane.
Believing that Smith completely took over Bane is a bit of a stretch, as Bane’s soul was still in the body and so his conscience was still in there (a similar situation to that of the victims in Get Out). Elaborating on this possession method would clear that one up.
How Did Cypher Betray Them?
The directors had said that Cypher has used an “automated script” to get into the Matrix to talk to Agent Smith in order to discuss his betrayal, but that’s a very lousy excuse that doesn’t make sense to anyone.
What the fans deserve is an on-screen explanation as to how a person can plug into the Matrix without another person controlling the process. Within the films, it appears as if Cypher himself just plugged in for a nice, hot meal and came out with no-one on the ship ever realizing he was there. What we’d also like to know is how he enjoyed the steak that much, because he certainly made it look tasty as heck.
Are People Unplugging From The Matrix?
The Architect claimed at the end of The Matrix Revolutions that there would now be an open option for people who want to leave the Matrix and go to the real world – so, how does that work? It’s not like they would have advertisements for people to unplug from the Matrix, and the process is unknown to everyone.
Even if we disregard the process, we’d like to know if people did take that option. Considering Cypher had become completely disillusioned with the idea of living in the crappy real world (and it does stink at times), there might be a civil war of sorts between people who are in favor of being unplugged and those in favor of the Matrix.
What Is Morpheus' Mission Now?
All Morpheus ever did was regurgitate that Neo was the One. It was the guy’s life mission to have the One save Zion and liberate the human race. Now that the mission was accomplished, what does the man have to live for?
We’re not saying he’d have had an existential crisis, but it would be interesting to know what he’s made of his life now that he has something else to think about for the first time ever. Did he settle down with Naobi, or is he out there trying to get more people to unplug?
Is There A Chance To Salvage The World?
Before Trinity and Neo reached Machine City, they took to the skies and we saw a shot of the beautiful sun in the real world. This leaves the possibility that the world still has a chance of being repaired.
A new Matrix film would be highly intriguing if the set-up has the heroes trying to salvage the real world through the Matrix. It’s hard to accept that the real world is now permanently damaged with no hope of it ever being fixed, and if that is the case, then we’d like to know for sure with onscreen confirmation.
Are Humans Still Power Sources?
The machines were A.I. that were always evolving. They surpassed what humans thought they were capable of and took control of the world by using humans themselves as power sources. This also means they are capable of figuring out other means of power.
With the affirmation that the sky still exists past the “scorched” part in The Matrix Revolutions, one has to believe that the machines will figure out in due course that they can use the sun for power. This would enable the humans to be free from their rule, since they won’t serve much purpose. The possibilities here are the machines exterminating humans permanently, or a story about how all the humans get unplugged and return to the real world.