Are you ready to tumble down the rabbit hole all over again? You’d better be – because The Matrix Resurrections trailer is here, and about to plunge us all back into notions of simulated reality, predestination, and societal programming once more. With kung fu fights, of course. And guns. Lots of guns. The long-awaited fourth chapter in the sci-fi saga brings director Lana Wachowski back behind the camera (Lilly Wachowski is sitting this one out), with Keanu Reeves back as Neo, and Carrie-Anne Moss returning as Trinity in a self-reflexive sequel sure to blow our minds. Check out the first full official trailer here:
There’s plenty to unpack here then – Neo has been having Matrix-y dreams, Trinity doesn’t seem to remember him, and it does, indeed, look like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is playing Morpheus. Or at least a Morpheus-like figure, offering the older Neo an all-important Red Pill. Plus, Jessica Yu Li Henwick looks to be this movie’s action MVP, running up walls and laying gravity-defying smackdowns. And as we saw in the teaser footage earlier in the week, there are plenty of shots echoing moments especially from the first movie: rippling mirrors, black cats, pills and all. Remember: it’s not deja vu. It’s a glitch in the Matrix.
The film looks to have a slightly different visual identity to the original trilogy too – partly, that'll be down to the fact that original cinematographer Bill Pope hasn't returned for Resurrections, instead being replaced by Daniele Massaccesi and John Toll. But also our own digital worlds have massively advanced in the 18 years since we last entered The Matrix – so it would make sense that the ultra-advanced simulation would reflect that too. And on that note of multiple Matrix iterations, it remains to be seen how exactly this new film relates to the previous trilogy, how it responds to the sacrifices made in Revolutions' final reel, and which iteration of the computer-world it takes place in.
So there we have it – The Matrix Resurrections is real, and it’s coming to UK cinemas from 22 December. The film is written by Lana Wachowski, along with Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, who previously wrote on the Sense 8 finale. Now, here’s hoping it lives up the all-time-classic original, and the underrated sequel two-parter of Reloaded and Revolutions.