The Matrix: Path Of Neo wasn’t originally going to be about Keanu Reeves’ high-flying protagonist, but rather a supporting character named Seraph. As befitting a franchise centered around a vast virtual world where the only limits are one’s own imagination, The Matrix has seen several video game tie-ins over the years. The first was Enter The Matrix, a side story that ran parallel to the events of the original Matrix trilogy and contained several wild and memorable cheat codes. There was also The Matrix Online, an MMO that took place after The Matrix Revolutions and filled in several aspects of the franchise’s lore - including the possibly non-canon death of human resistance leader Morpheus.
In contrast, 2005’s The Matrix: Path Of Neo was a more straightforward adaptation of the original three Matrix films, retelling the story of computer hacker Thomas Anderson as he discovers that his world is actually a simulation created by machines and rises against them as The One. One noteworthy departure from the source material comes in The Matrix: Path Of Neo’s final boss battle, where instead of Neo sacrificing himself to destroy Agent Smith, the rogue program transforms into a colossal beast that players have to take down. Path Of Neo has some other fun secrets and side details, such as Matrix co-creators Lilly and Lana Wachowski making a pixelated cameo appearance right before the final battle and the game’s developers making full use of the motion capture technology the films utilized, but as it turns out that Path Of Neo wasn’t going to be about the titular character at all.
In an interview with Polygon about the various Matrix games that have been released over the years, The Matrix: Path Of Neo Art and Cinematic Director Chandana “Eka” Ekanayake revealed that the game was originally going to star a supporting character from the latter two films named Seraph. He was played by Collin Chou and served as an ally to Neo and The Oracle. “We knew we were gonna do another Matrix game, and the first thing the Wachowskis wanted to do was a Seraph game," Ekanayake explained, noting that somewhere along the line this plan changed to instead center the game around Neo. Ekanayake continued that as they were building out the tools that would later be used for Enter the Matrix, "at some point I think they wanted to retell Neo’s story across all three films. And make it more of a video game story.”
While there hasn’t been another full-fledged Matrix game since The Matrix Online shut down in 2009, Epic Games recently partnered with the production team of The Matrix Resurrections for The Matrix Awakens, a tech demo for Unreal Engine 5 that featured appearances from Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss and wowed players with a fully-rendered open-world city. Keanu Reeves has recently stated that he would love to reprise his role as Neo in a new Matrix game and expressed disappointment in Warner Bros. for not making more titles based on the franchise.
While getting to play as Neo once again in a new Matrix video game would certainly be a treat for longtime fans, The Matrix is filled with interesting side characters that could be further explored in an interactive medium - including Seraph. While he didn’t get a chance to star in the game that would become Path Of Neo, perhaps Seraph could make a return appearance in a brand new Matrix title if one should materialize.
Source: Polygon