The question of why The Matrix Resurrections looks so different from its predecessors has been raised after fans noted the new Matrix's previews looked significantly less green than previous outings. The long-awaited Matrix Resurrections trailer has arrived to much fanfare, granting a prolonged look at director Lana Wachowski's return to the franchise after an 18-year hiatus. With talks of reviving The Matrix starting as far back as 2017, Resurrections' Christmas release in theatres and streaming on HBO Max will mark the zenith of a long production journey and hopefully, meet high fan expections.
The Matrix 4's official trailer also shed some light on several prominent questions that have dogged the build-up to The Matrix Resurrections' release. The new trailer, along with prior teasers, confirms the long vaunted theory that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will play a young Morpheus. At the same time, Neil Patrick Harris' unnamed therapist and Jonathan Groff's Agent also have more light shed on their roles, alongside the very welcome sight of Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) back in action after almost two decades.
Yet despite the wave of nostalgia that accompanies seeing Neo return to the simulation, The Matrix Resurrections looks visually disparate from its previous installments. A more meta storyline, coupled with a change in the color palette, hints at continued narrative changes in the sequel's story. The lack of green tint in the new trailer is also apparent compared to prior movies, mirroring The Matrix's original 1999 theatre release. While Resurrections is undeniably a Matrix movie evocative of the Wachowski's signature direction style, there are some key visual differences from the original trilogy.
Firstly, The Matrix 4 looks incredibly self-referential, littered with meta moments of Neo questioning his consciousness, almost as if Wachowski feels her audience is predisposed to taking the Red Pill this time around. There is also less leather than in prior Matrix installments, both in set design and character costumes, perhaps as much an indication of the long gap between Revolutions and Resurrections as it is the waning interest in the cyberpunk subgenre. However, the most notable change in The Matrix 4 trailer is the lack of a green hue. This palette change could represent an evolution of Wachowski's narrative given the penultimate events of The Matrix Revolutions story, where the Oracle and Architect watch over a truce within the Matrix and share a sunrise in Neo's honor. The sunshine depicted at the end of Revolutions could well have continued over into The Matrix Resurrections to represent the Matrix being rebooted, resulting in some visual changes.
Despite the familiarity of The Matrix's signature green tint, there could be another reason altogether why it was abandoned for Resurrections. In both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, scenes within the Matrix were given a green hue to signify the entrance into a virtual world. This was a creative decision taken by the Wachowskis to reinforce the alien nature of the simulation, with the original 1999 Matrix being remastered post-release to bring it in line visually with the trilogy aesthetic. Therefore, The Matrix Resurrections trailer's brighter, cleaner color palette could also result from Lana Wachowski returning to her roots and presenting The Matrix Resurrections the same way the original 1999 Matrix theatrical release was presented.
