The Matrix Resurrections trailer is now online and in true Matrix fashion, fans have begun pouring over the footage for hints and clues that could reveal anything about the movie’s plot. But as much as we all want to know what the storyline entails, the sheer intrigueness of the trailer has raised a lot more questions than it set to answer. As a lifelong fan of the series, here’s my attempt at breaking down the trailer with the most important questions and some interesting observations.

Red Pill and Blue Pill references

The red and blue pill references abound and the color scheme continues to switch between Red, Yellow and Blue. Scenes in the matrix have a tint of yellow to them, thanks in part to the peace that was established between man and machine at the end of The Matrix Revolutions that had resulted in a beautiful sunshine enveloping the world of the Matrix; that sunshine is seen prominently in the trailer. Objects from the literal pills to the glasses worn by Neil Patrick Harris are adorned in blue. A copy of Alice in Wonderland is also seen upside down; the original had made heavy references spiritually to this, “tumbling down the rabbit hole”.

How do Neo and Trinity return?

There’s been longstanding speculation on just how Neo and Trinity return and the trailer doesn’t do much to answer that except provide morsels. Both Neo and Trinity are unable to recognize each other, suggesting that their memories were wiped off and they’ve been essentially recreated afresh by the machines as “regular” humans stuck in the Matrix. The trailer though gives us our first clues when we see the Neo from the end of Revolutions being resurrected by the machines.

It’s possible then that remnants of their programming still remain, which explains the shots where Neo holds Trinity’s arms and at some point, Neo might start remembering who he really was as a result of his encounters with others in the Matrix such as his therapist played by Neil Patrick Harris. Neo still carries the Thomas Anderson name, as evident by Patrick Harris’ therapist referring to him as such.

In a brief shot in front of the mirror, we also see Neo as a rather aged man. The teasers had captured a similar shot of Neo reflected as an old man in the mirror, looking a lot like Rama Kundra. I’m not sure if that implies Neo may have been resurrected in a different body and unable to see it, much like how Wonder Woman “saw” Steve Trevor in another person’s body in Wonder Woman 1984.

Is Trinity Pregnant?

A brief shot where Neo holds Trinity’s arms seems to suggest that Trinity might be pregnant. If true, could that mean Neo and Trinity will have an offspring who will go on to be the true victor over machines, the real “One” who will end the war once and for all instead of brokering a fragile peace that could be dishonored any moment.

Who are Neil Patrick Harris and Jonathan Groff playing?

From the looks of it, Harris is Neo’s therapist, helping him cope with the weird dreams that he keeps having. He’s likely dreaming about the life he lived as Thomas Anderson / Neo in The Matrix and its sequels and having trouble cope with the realization that something is off with the world. Jonathan Groff may simply be playing an agent given the sarcastic manner in which he taunts Neo but he somehow reminds me an awful lot of Mr. Reinhardt, Anderson’s boss from the first Matrix. Yet another thought is that Groff could be playing the one who betrays Neo and his team in this iteration of the Matrix, essentially this generation’s Cipher.

Deja Vu

A black cat is seen strolling around when Neo is attending his therapy session with Harris. In The Matrix, a black cat was used to explain deja vu, a glitch in the Matrix. I’m pretty sure we’re going to see the cat go through the same movements again. The theme of Deja Vu seems like it’ll be a very important one, as I’ll revisit in another article.

The Burly Brawl III

Does The Matrix Resurrections have its own Burly Brawl? A sequence with countless armed men in military outfits pursuing Neo and Trinity strongly suggests this will be an elongated sequence with lots of action in the vein of what we’ve come to expect from the series. There are echoes of a lobby shootout, a fight where Neo bursts through these men and Neo and Trinity escaping on a motorcycle from hordes of these men as they charge on Neo like zombies. Set photos from the motorcycle shoot were leaked last year and the footage lends some context to those scenes.

Is Priyanka Chopra Jonas playing Sati?

We only get one shot of Priyanka Chopra Jonas smiling innocently and it’s difficult to conclude anything from that. But theories doing the rounds is that she’s playing a grown up Sati, the Indian girl who was born out of love between two programs in the Matrix. If so, she would have had a happy life growing up in the Matrix after the Oracle successfully broked a truce with the Architect.

Another crazy theory is that she could be playing the Oracle herself given her glasses, but that sounds like a too far-fetched conclusion to derive from this glimpse. I’ll shoot that one down then for now.

Is Jessica Henwick playing Switch?

Jessica Henwick features prominently in the trailer and also seems like she’s doing most of the heavylifting. Her physique, hairstyle and demeanor are awfully reminiscent of Switch from 1999’s The Matrix. In that movie, Switch becomes the first ones to die after Joe Pantaliano’s Cipher pulled the plug on them, trading their lives in exchange for being inserted back in the Matrix.

However, she has strong echoes of being this iteration’s Trinity. This is most evident in the fact that she’s the woman doing most of the action stunts and asks Neo the same questions that Trinity did although she carries the white rabbit tattoo that in the original was seen on another woman’s arms. She also seems to lead him to the same room where he will be woken up by tracing the red pill that he consumed from Morpheus’ hands. Speaking of which …

Who is Yahya-Abdul Mateen II playing?

The question of who Yahya-Abdul Mateen II is playing has been lingering on fan’s minds for far too long, primarily because of his resemblance to Lawrence Fishburne’s Morpheus. There’s been a bit of back-and-forth going from outlets officially confirming that he’s playing a younger Morpheus to changing their stance to maintain that he’s been cast in an undisclosed role. If the trailer, his outfits and with the glasses that he’s wearing are any indication, there’s no denying that he’s playing Morpheus in some form – younger or rebooted. He also shares some scenes with Neo in the trailer that are straight out of 1999’s The Matrix including the famed Dojo fight.

So that was it. I’ll probably be revisiting this post as I myself watch the trailer countless more times. Meanwhile, feel free to use the comments as a sounding off board and let me know some of your own theories in the comments below.

The Matrix Resurrections releases in theaters and on HBO Max on Dec 17, 2022. It features an ensemble cast that includes recurring stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, Jada Pinkett-Smith as Niobe, Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian and Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson alongside franchise newcomers Yahya-Abdul Mateen II, Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, Jessica Henwick, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Christina Ricci.