Earlier this week, word arrived from Warner Bros. that The Matrix 5 is in development with Netflix’s Daredevil creator Drew Goddard at the helm, and in turn a big sigh was uttered across the internet – myself included. It’s fine for franchises to die, especially one that ends as conclusively (at least thematically) as The Matrix: Resurrections did, but unfortunately in a world where IP is king, there is always money to be made. I know my complaining here won’t stop Warner Bros. from pushing ahead with a new entry, but if a new film has to happen, then it needs to start at the beginning.
Last month, on March 31, a trifecta of events took place: it was Easter Sunday, Trans Day of Visibility, and the 25th anniversary of the original Matrix film. Only once in a generation can such events take place at the same time, and it feels like a perfect way for The Matrix to celebrate such a big birthday, what with the obvious Jesus-like figure it has in Neo, and the very purposeful trans themes present in the film. The two following sequels weren’t as well received, and neither was its 2021 soft-reboot Resurrections, though all three have been critically reappraised as the years have gone on.
I don’t think they could ever hold a candle to the original, as it felt like lightning in a bottle. It came at the perfect time, with its dark, edgy, and rainy vibes alongside its use of contemporary technology, it tapped into the zeitgeist of the 90s perfectly right at the end of the decade. No sequel could ever hope to capture that, and its job was made all the more difficult by the fact that Neo went on a classic hero’s journey, a perfect way to start a story.
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