The Matrix movies can continue past Neo and Trinity, and the franchise’s history proves it. More than 18 years after The Matrix Revolutions, the Matrix franchise returned to the big screen with The Matrix Resurrections. Despite years of talks about a Matrix reboot, The Matrix Resurrections was a true sequel to the first three Matrix movies and picked up the story 60 years after the events of Revolutions. By revisiting Keanu Reeves’ Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss’ Trinity, The Matrix Resurrections felt too familiar to what the previous movies had done, which essentially played against the fourth Matrix film. However, there is a Matrix future beyond Neo and Trinity.
The Matrix Revolutions’ ending suggested that the truce between humans and machines achieved by Neo was the end of all possible conflict, meaning that a Matrix 4 was unlikely. However, as one of the most successful and impactful movie franchises of all time, Matrix would never go for decades without continuing in some form. Given that almost 20 years had passed since Revolutions, plus how iconic characters like Neo and Trinity are, it made sense for Resurrections to be a direct sequel to the original Matrix trilogy. However, for the Matrix franchise to continue past Resurrections, it has to move on from Neo and Trinity – and it can be done.
Some Of The Best Matrix Stories Weren’t About Neo & Trinity
Every Matrix movie is memorable on its own, yet there are several other Matrix stories outside the movies. Expanded universes spanning across several media are now common for franchises like the MCU, and the Matrix universe was a pioneer when it comes to that approach. The Matrix expanded universe, which doesn’t have an official designation, involves the four live-action Matrix movies, The Animatrix, comics, and video games. Neo and Trinity may be the main character in the Matrix movies, but releases like The Animatrix proved that there were Matrix stories not centered on Neo and Trinity worth telling. For example, only one of the eight Animatrix shorts features Neo.
The Animatrix remains the best example of how rich the Matrix universe is. Produced as a tie-in material leading up to The Matrix Reloaded, The Animatrix consists of eight animated shorts directed by seven different creators, most of which are set in the Matrix simulation. With the exception of Trinity in A Detective Story and Neo in "The Kid", the Animatrix follows original characters and does not rely on the events of the movies. In terms of plot, the only Animatrix short that really ties into The Matrix Reloaded is "Final Flight of the Oasis", which features the sentinel attack that Morpheus discusses at the beginning of Reloaded.
The best Animatrix moments are precisely the ones that do not connect with the movies that much, as those are the moments in which the Animatrix directors could be truly inventive. The Animatrix is considered canon, but the shorts are not limited by any sense of lore or chronology. Each of the Animatrix shorts follows a different set of characters, and the “rules of the Matrix” are far from being strict. Essentially, the Animatrix exemplifies how there is really no limitation as to what stories can be told within the Matrix world. None of the shorts tried to copy The Matrix (1999), yet they felt like part of the same world.
The Matrix Universe Is Much More Than Neo’s Journey
Neo was more than “The One”, as all five Ones before Neo were bound to fail. Neo was the hero of the story, the “chosen one” who broke the cycle set up by the machines, which is why Neo’s journey will always define the original Matrix trilogy. Likewise, Trinity and Neo defeated the Analyst in Resurrections to give the Matrix a new beginning. That said, compared to how long the Matrix simulation exists in-universe, the events of the Matrix movies are just a small fraction of the whole story. Unlike what Morpheus believes, the Matrix movies do not take place in 2199 but rather close to 2699.
If the First Machine War, which ended with humanity scorching the sky and the construction of the first Matrix simulation, happened somewhere around the end of the 20th century, then there are more than 600 years’ worth of stories in the Matrix universe before Neo is even born. Granted, no one before Neo managed to beat the machines in their own game, but that does not mean a Matrix story set before The Matrix cannot work. For example, the story of the first One and how they had to play the machines’ game to save Zion from destruction is an interesting story by itself.
Matrix Resurrections Put The Franchise's Future In Check
The Matrix Resurrections was released on HBO Max the same day it premiered in theaters, and went on to make $157 million at the box office on a $190 million budget. While the pandemic scenario and the same-day release have to be factored in, The Matrix Resurrections’ box office results were disappointing. The Matrix franchise had “one shot” to capitalize on the nostalgia of Neo and Trinity’s return, a magic that no longer can be replicated. The first Matrix movie in almost 20 years was expected to be an event film, which The Matrix Resurrections could not achieve given the circumstances of its release.
In addition to the financial aspect, The Matrix Resurrections’ ending also did not leave much room for Matrix 5 to continue the story. Neo and Trinity’s story in Resurrections felt like a very self-contained adventure, with the duo reuniting 60 years after The Matrix Revolutions to stop the Analyst’s plans and create yet another version of the Matrix. Resurrections is also a meta-story on many levels, and it sorts of closes the door to another Matrix sequel or reboot. The Matrix Resurrections introduces many new concepts, such as the Analyst or the new Smith, yet it is more of a Matrix epilogue than the beginning of a new trilogy.
Matrix 5 Can Be An Original Matrix Story (Without Rebooting It)
The Matrix Resurrections being a closing chapter does not mean that the Matrix franchise cannot continue. Even if there are no immediate plans for Matrix 5 to happen, the Matrix IP is just too significant to be ignored forever. Therefore, should Matrix ever return, it should borrow from materials like The Animatrix and the comics. That is not to say that the next Matrix movie should copy what has been done in those Matrix stories, only that it should try to create an original within the Matrix world without rebooting Neo’s story. For example, a Matrix prequel would have unlimited potential.
A new Matrix story with no ties to Neo and Trinity would not even have to be set at a specific point in the Matrix timeline. In fact, the best way to replicate that sense of mystery of the first Matrix movie, which any of the Matrix sequels managed to achieve, would be to tell a story whose place in the Matrix is unclear. A Matrix story set right after the First Machine War or one a few years before Neo would both work, and given the nature of the Matrix simulation, it would be impossible for audiences to tell the difference.