In the current climate of Hollywood sequels, prequels, remakes, and reboots, one franchise getting dusted off is causing some actual excitement rather than dread. The possibility of a fourth Matrix film was recently announced, with several returning cast under the guidance of at least one Wachowski sister. When The Matrix premiered in 1999, it was one of the most original and groundbreaking films of all time, changing the genre of science fiction and movie-making forever.
The sequels that followed were not looked upon so favorably, and it remains to be seen just how much of their storylines the fourth film will draw on. For instance, Neo, the main protagonist of the trilogy, sacrificed himself for humanity in the third film, so how he'll return is up for debate. Fan theories have taken hold of the internet, with some seemingly plausible, and others as far-fetched as Mouse getting with the Woman in the Red Dress. Below are the 5 theories that could actually work, and 5 too crazy to be possible.
Could Happen: Morpheus Rebuilds Zion
When last we met our cyberpunk heroes, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) was the only one that had made it out alive. Trinity, Neo, and many of their comrades were dead. The "machines" were technically wiped out in Zion after Neo was absorbed into the nexus port, but did all of them shut down?
Morpheus, a die hard veteran of the war against the machines, as well as programs in the Matrix, may have to find another Chosen One. Perhaps he was wrong, and in a strange Uui-Gon Jinn/Anakin way, he has to find his next Luke Skywalker.
Too Crazy To Work: The Matrix Is Rebooted With The Matrix Films In Existence
One reddit postulated that the only way a new Matrix film could happen is if the Matrix itself was rebooted, and the people of the real world found a new "point of entry" hacker. Trinity would assume the Morpheus role, and the hierarchies of the previous Matrix would be re-established.
The reboot of the Matrix would take place in the same year the film comes out (2020), in a world where The Matrix trilogy exists. People know about the films, and therefore don't believe anyone from the apocalyptic "real world" because they've already seen a film about it.
Could Happen: Humans And Rogue Programs Team Up
When looking at the original Matrix trilogy, one can see that in essence, Neo and the rogue program Agent Smith were both opposites sides of the same coin in many respects. They were both singularities in their respective systems, and for the common goal of survival, may work together. The program Smith rejected assimilation and failed to return to the source.
One reddit posited that rogue program and humans have ed forces to overthrow the architect and control The Matrix. He made a copy of Neo's brain in secret and turned it into an anti-virus program. The insurgents use his Neo-Neural mapped program to save the day.
Too Crazy To Work: Humans Are Sims
After the global thermonuclear war between humankind and machines that wiped out all habitable areas on Earth and drove people underground, reddit DJ_Reticuli explained that perhaps all humans had actually died along with the sun.
Perhaps they simply created humans as artificial life forms to "play" with, like their own versions of Sims. Therefore The Matrix is a simulated environment, and so is Zion. Even the "humans as batteries" backstory was a lie to give them some sort of origins. And the horrible truth is discovered; Neo, Trinity, and all the rest are just one step up from being programs themselves.
Could Happen: It's A Prequel
Due to the fact that so many of the original characters from the trilogy are dead, reddit dontbajerk and other have postulated it could be a prequel, with a chance to use different human characters. Neo and Trinity may appear as future versions of themselves or in flashback.
A prequel could be set in any number of other versions of The Matrix, as Morpheus explained to Neo. The architect even told Neo that there were more Utopian versions but humankind rejected them. Could it take place in one of those idyllic societies?
Too Crazy To Work: Neo Is John Wick
As fun as it would be to marry the two epic movie-verses involving Keanu Reeves, The Matrix and John Wick, this theory is one of the most bizarre on the sheer complexity of its premise. It posits that Neo is really John Wick and vice versa, and he's on the payroll of the machines.
They've tasked him with hunting down all the "awakening" humans for them, so that they can be re-assimilated. It all pertains to a series of regulations similar to what we saw enforced within the secret assassin society in the John Wick movies, only this time for programs.
Could Happen: Neo Gets Reinserted Into The Matrix
At the end of the final film in the trilogy, Neo presented himself, savior-style, to the machines. He chose to do this, rather than accepting the eventuality that he must assimilate into the source. The architect made it clear dozens of Neos had done so before him. In this way, he beat the machines.
Some Reddit s argue that given the circuitous events that transpired before, the machines will restart Neo's heart, and simply re-insert him into the Matrix. They'll wipe his memories and he'll re-emerge in a 2020 era Matrix, middle-aged, and probably vaping.
Too Crazy To Work: Morpheus Is The Villain And Works With The Machines
In the interest of turning everything we know about The Matrix canon on its head, a theory that's been floating around the internet posits that since Morpheus is the only main character left alive at the end of the third film, he had to strike a bargain with the machines to remain alive.
As a villain now working with the machines, he's sent back into the Matrix to find any new "Neo" that might have been awakened, befriend them, and then turn them over to the machines. This seems incredibly unlikely, and also Morpheus died in the Matrix Online MMORPG, which is considered canon.
Could Happen: Agent Smith Is The One And Returns
A long held belief among Matrix fans has been that Neo wasn't the one, but a misled pupil of Morpheus and his misguided beliefs. The One was in fact Agent Smith, who as the Oracle tells us was a "man born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake The Matrix as he saw fit".
Smith did in fact remake the Matrix as he saw fit in Matrix: Revolutions, in which it became a nightmarish, rainy hellscape because of his repugnance for humankind. Smith disobeyed the system and failed to return to the source, causing the glitch.
Too Crazy To Work: Humans Form A Truce With Machines
One theory that's been posited is an unlikely truce between the humans and machines, with the machines simply conning the humans in order to put them into a false state of security again. There's a few problems with this directly out of the gate.
For one, exactly which humans are we talking about - the ones in the real world,or the ones in The Matrix? Also, why would there be a truce at all, when the humans know the machines to be soulless and incapable of comion? In order for this to work, the humans in the real world would also demand the unplugging of their fellows from The Matrix.
