Will Matrix 5 happen? Not if The Matrix Resurrections is any indication. By the conclusion of The Matrix Resurrections, Neo and Trinity have broken free from The Analyst's control, with Carrie-Anne Moss borrowing her boyfriend's ability to fly. Despite the happy ending, The Matrix Resurrections does leave a trail of breadcrumbs for a hypothetical sequel to potentially follow. The Architect and his unseen superiors are still around, Smith is on the loose, and the Matrix simulation is still active, leaving plenty of opportunity for a continuation further down the line.
Whether Matrix 5 actually happens is a different matter altogether. Warner Bros. has declared itself ready and willing to work with Lana Wachowski anytime she chooses, but The Matrix Resurrections' director maintains a sequel isn't in her plans. Add to that the box office beating The Matrix Resurrections endured and the (predictably) mixed reviews, and there's plenty of reason to suspect Matrix 5 won't happen - whatever Neo and Trinity's latest adventure might hint towards in its final moments. This shouldn't come as a surprise considering the super-meta commentary The Matrix Resurrections makes about the movie industry.
In The Matrix Resurrections' opening act, Jonathan Groff's (still sleeping) Smith tells Neo, "Our beloved parent company, Warner Bros., has decided to make a sequel to the trilogy... they're gonna do it with or without us." Shortly following this explicit studio swipe, a cringe-worthy production meeting montage includes such gems as Christina Ricci uttering with a wry smile, "Originality and fresh... great things to keep in mind as you begin working on Matrix 4." Yahya Abdul-Mateen II later describes how nostalgia soothes the soul, and The Analyst reveals his Matrix design prioritizes fiction over fact, repackaging and wheeling out Neo time and time again in a ruthless metaphor for Hollywood's sequel and remake obsession.
These Matrix Resurrections meta moments are, in part, Lana Wachowski's self-aware acknowledgement that continuing the Matrix franchise in 2021 is symptomatic of the movie industry's current problem, where brands and IPs reign supreme, milked dry while potential new hits fall by the wayside, forever unmade. The Matrix Resurrections' withering put-down of the major studio machine makes a sequel extremely unlikely. Warner Bros. might've been desperate for another entry in the Matrix franchise, but Lana Wachowski makes her modern revival work by using The Matrix Resurrections as a disguised critique of both the Hollywood sequel model and audience sentimentality. Unfortunately for her beloved parent company, that self-referential trick will only work once. The Matrix 5 - a sequel to the sequel that criticizes sequels - would inevitably stray into a hypocritical gray area.
Having said that, fans hoping for Matrix 5 can find solace in Smith's line, "That's the thing about stories... they never really end do they?" Groff's quote seemingly admits regular revisits to the Matrix franchise are an inevitability for the future. Stories go on forever, rebooted, reimagined, recycled, repeated. Warner Bros. (the real one) has publicly affirmed that any further Matrix movies wouldn't happen without Wachowski involvement, but it's impossible not to wonder if there's a grain of truth to Smith's "with or without us" line, or whether the real life deal was more amicable than for Deus ex Machina.
There's considerably more in The Matrix Resurrections to suggest Matrix 5 won't happen than there are hints indicating it will. And even if Warner Bros. steam ahead with additional Matrix movies in years to come, The Matrix Resurrections has at least spelled out precisely why that's not a good idea.