It’s hard to believe that The Matrix first debuted and captivated audiences and became an instant pop culture phenomenon almost 20 years ago. In the same year that had a lot of hype for The Phantom Menace, The Matrix came out and shattered all expectations with its slick marketing campaign - “What Is The Matrix?” - and a completely out there movie. It’s science fiction, it’s action, cyber punk, anime, and a living comic book, all rolled up into one.
Actually, the entire story nearly was a comic book back when The Wachowskis were working for Marvel’s Razor imprint. But once they made the movie Bound, more studios were interested in their style and Warner Bros. stumbled into a goldmine. Here’s 10 hidden details that fans completely missed in The Matrix.
There Are Twins Everywhere
Aussie national Fiona Johnson turned all sorts of heads on set while filming “The Women In The Red Dress” scene. The whole point of the scene to was to teach Neo not to be distracted by anything he sees in while in the Matrix.
Aside from causing a traffic accident while filming, another thing you might not have noticed while gawking at Johnson was that the entire scene was cast with identical twins and triplets to try and further the idea that Neo was inside of a program.
There's A Nod To The Prisoner
One of the craziest, cultiest science fictions shows of all time was BBC’s The Prisoner. The series was about a government agent who quit his job. As he tried to leave his flat in London, he’s drugged and wakes up in a recreation of his home in a place called The Village.
The Matrix owes a little inspiration to The Prisoner. The Wachowskis paid tribute to the series while Neo is running for his life from Agent Smith. He runs past a TV broadcasting an episode of the cult show.
The Window Washers Are Coded
Before Neo “wakes up,” by day he lives the humdrum life of an office drone. His boss is possibly an agent. The building he works in is actually called the MetaCortex building. Like plenty of tall skyscrapers in the real world, even the Matrix needs windows washers.
The guy cleaning the window in The Matrix has a very deliberate motion. If you look closely, the beads of water resemble the pattern of the Matrix code.
Reeve’s Homework
What is real? What is imagined? What is a mere facsimile of a memory? How can all of this be used to your advantage, or to make a compelling movie? The Matrix is filled with more philosophy and theories than a fan might think, but it’s all there if you ever wanted to do a deep dive.
Thankfully, you don’t have to do any homework to enjoy the movie. The stars already had to read all kinds of books and concepts before they even filmed a scene. One of the books Neo had to read was Simulacra And Simulation. That particular book shows up on Neo’s bookshelf and hollowed out is where he keeps his stash.
A.B.Q. - Always Be Questioning
Plenty of rebels over the years have made their mark and have relayed part of their message to be “question everything.” The rebels in The Matrix even question their own reality.
Neo literally questions just about anything and everything before he’s woken up and freed from the Matrix. Keanu Reeves has about 80 lines in the first half of the movie, and a little over half of them are questions.
Neo’s Stunt Double Created John Wick
Over the years, after the fact this one became a fun detail. Even though Keanu Reeves did the bulk of his own stunts - including wandering out to the roof of a building, there is as always a stunt double on hand to help out.
Reeves’ double was Chad Stahelski. Stahelski went on create, write, and direct Reeves in the John Wick movies. Not bad for a stuntman in one action franchise to end up creating one more of the craziest stunt-action franchises in history.
“I’m Beginning To See The Light”
The Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald jazz standard makes several appearances throughout the trilogy. But it first appears when Neo first appears before the Oracle and be literally see the light and realize everything he’s capable of whether he’s actually the one or not.
She leaves him with the notion that he isn’t the one, no matter how much Morpheus thinks that he is.
How To Make Sushi
If you can decipher the actual code that we see all throughout the movie representing the virtual simulation of the Matrix, then you too can make great sushi.
The digital rain that became iconic was created by production designer, Simon Whitely. According to Whitely, the siblings asked him if he’d like to try and come up with something, since his wife was Japanese and could help with the characters. So he went home grabbed a bunch of the wife’s cookbooks and got to work.
Switch And Gender Fluidity
The Matrix was of course directed by then-Larry and Andy Wachowski. Now, they’ve both transitioned and are known as Lana and Lilly Wachowski, respectively. But even as far back as the first movie, they had a character in the screenplay that would have helped show their own acceptance of gender and gender fluidity.
Switch was originally supposed to be a male in the real world and a female in The Matrix - showing a lot about not just the Wachowskis in hindsight, but also the idea that you can literally do anything and be anyone you want to be inside the Matrix.
No Neck Braces Needed
These last years, the internet has again fallen in love with Keanu Reeves. Besides the movie roles he’s take, the guy is seemingly ageless, the nicest guy ever, and thanks to John Wick, is once again the coolest guy ever.
When he was training for the original film, Reeves had broken his spine and neck before training even started. But he continued to solider in, wearing a neck brace during his training sessions. Before the internet's newfound love affair with Keanu, he was already showing that he was one of Hollywood’s real tough guys.