Top 10 Matrix Resurrections Fan Theories

This theory didn’t come from the teasers or trailer that had everyone pressing replay, but rather the official synopsis of the film that was released by Warner Bros. The line that set off sparks in the heads of fan theorists all over the internet was that the Matrix Resurrections would be a "continuation of the story established in the first MATRIX film." This could suggest that the fourth film will effectively retcon the second and third films. Although some in the fanbase would prefer the sequels never existed, this theory seems unlikely. There are shots of Neo’s real body with scarred eyes, which implies that the sequels are very real, unlike spoons.

The Matrix Revolutions ends with Agent Smith in smithereens and a shaky peace achieved between the humans and the machines. So who’s disrupting this truce? Some fans think that it could be the renegade program again but in a new avatar. In the trailer, Jonathan Groff’s character mentions going back to where it all began. Somehow, he knows what the matrix is. The theory explains that the Wachowskis love using color-coding in their films, and Groff’s character is dressed in all black - which could mean that he’s the main antagonist.

The Wachowskis left breadcrumbs about Neo’s fate after the third film in their MMORPG, “The Matrix Online”. This game, which is canon, reveals that the code for Neo’s ‘Residual Self-Image’ was scattered through the Matrix, suggesting he could return even without his physical body. It also explained that the machines refused to hand over Neo’s remains to Morpheus, hinting at something sinister. The trailer features a quick shot of Neo’s physical body surrounded by machines, making several theorists believe that the machines have chosen to revive him. In case the machines decide not to jumpstart “The One”, another theory points out that Neo might be immortal because of his ability to heal himself and others, so maybe a resurrection isn’t a stretch.

While lots of theories center around Neo and Trinity coming back to life, a few consider that they never died at all… kind of. This fan theory proposes that someone has taken the pair from the past, specifically right after the first film, and flung them into the future. This one is difficult to sell since Neo and Trinity appear to be old, which wouldn’t fit with their characters being from the past. Also, mixing time travel with the already complex world of the Matrix would get sticky. Then again, there has to be some explanation for the presence of a seemingly young Morpheus!

The presence of a young Morpheus has most of us baffled and plenty of theorists buzzing. Many think that this time it will be Neo who will mentor Morpheus and show him the truth. In one of the teasers released before the official trailer, Morpheus says: “This is the moment for you to show us what is real.” This could be purposely misleading but there is a moment from the trailer where Morpheus is awakening to the truth, mirroring Neo’s awakening from the first film. There’s also another part of the trailer where Neo’s awakening is literally projected onto a wall, giving the fan theory some serious footing.

Almost everyone assumes that Neo in this sequel is the same Neo from the original trilogy. Some fans theorize that OUR Neo won’t make a comeback but one of his predecessors possibly could. The Neo that sacrifices himself at the end of “Matrix Revolutions” was the sixth version of “The One”; the previous five versions chose to reinsert themselves into the Matrix to reload it. This could explain why Resurrection’s version of “The One” looks older. On the other hand, Reddit user “gloamiemusic” theorizes that this new Neo is actually a machine mind living in a manmade Matrix, perhaps being taught to have human feelings.

Played by Priyanka Chopra, the woman in the cafe from the trailer is wearing very familiar glasses and is reading “Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass.” According to a popular fan theory, this mysterious woman could be the Oracle sporting a new look, as she has done in the past. Or she could be a grown-up version of Sati, a program without a purpose who was played by Tanveer K. Atwal in “The Matrix Revolutions”. Another reason this works is that at the end of the third film the Oracle tells Sati that she believes that they’ll see Neo again.

One of the most burning questions fans have is about Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s version of Morpheus. Why have Neo and Trinity aged, while Morpheus looks even younger than in the original movies? Well, we already mentioned one fan theory about time travel. There’s also another theory that we can thank the machines for young Morpheus’s existence. In one of the teasers, you can see several tiny robots forming Morpheus’ body. They look eerily similar to the ones that formed the ‘face’ of the leader of the machines, “Deus Ex Machina” that Neo meets at the end of “The Matrix Revolutions”. The theory goes that Morpheus was created by the machines and imprinted with the original Morpheus’ memories and mannerisms.

This theory comes from the mind of Redditor “BasketOfPizzas”. They suggested that the newest installment in the series could really drop a bombshell on us by revealing that the dystopian landscapes from the original trilogy weren’t real. The sentinels, scorched skies, and underground cities were just hallucinations induced by the red pill. Neil Patrick Harris’ therapist character is now bringing Neo back to reality with blue pills. We guess that in this case, all the far out events that happened to Neo within the Matrix would be hallucinations too - maybe he didn’t actually fly through the air or stop bullets. This is a pretty far-fetched theory, and would make for a much less exciting world - but it’s definitely wild!

Here’s another eye-opening theory that focuses on the nature of the Matrix. What if there’s a Matrix within the Matrix? The machines could take all the humans that realize they’re “plugged in” and just send them to another Matrix. They could simulate them escaping, becoming “The One”, and rebelling against the machines. This also explains how Neo could control the machines while “outside” of the Matrix. He was really inside another layer of the simulation. If this theory proves to be true then they could essentially retcon the entirety of the original trilogy and begin the ‘real’ fight against the machines in the fourth film.