In April 2024, Warner Bros. announced that it was working on The Matrix 5, with it coming from a pitch that writer and director Drew Goddard presented. Over a year and a half later, almost nothing has been heard about the movie. Goddard has explained that he is still writing the film, although he hasn’t given any story details yet. This is pretty scary, as The Matrix‘s last reboot attempt left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans, making the upcoming fifth film a big risk.
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The Matrix franchise finally returned in 2021, with the release of The Matrix Resurrections. This revival film was directed by Lana Wachowski and, despite the hype surrounding it, became very controversial. Resurrections was surprisingly a metacommentary on the state of the franchise and Warner Bros.’ treatment of it, although it was still full of the callbacks and Easter eggs that fans would expect. Despite its mixed reception, The Matrix 5 is moving forward, and these three theories about the film’s story are much better than what Resurrections did.
The Matrix 5 Won’t Have Neo As Its Protagonist
Although Keanu Reeves is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood right now, The Matrix 5 should really move away from him. There have been all kinds of theories regarding Neo’s role in the upcoming movie, and after four films centered on him, The Matrix 5 really needs to tell a different story. There are tons of characters in the universe of the franchise, and almost any of them would be better than doing another retread of Neo’s story.
Introducing a new protagonist would allow The Matrix to finally enter a new era, with it not being chained down to the original trilogy in the same way that Resurrections was. Telling a new story with new characters is the best way for The Matrix to get legs again, with it being a proper reintroduction of the franchise rather than a legacy sequel. Keanu Reeves could still appear as Neo, but he definitely shouldn’t be the main character.
The Matrix Will Have A New “The One”
Building off of the last theory, if Neo doesn’t come back, The Matrix 5 really needs to have a new The One. Neo is famously The One throughout the original Matrix trilogy, which is why he is the franchise’s main character. However, there have long been theories about how Neo isn’t necessarily the only One. The Matrix has gone through several cycles in the franchise’s lore, with the Architect saying and the Oracle implying that each cycle has a different One.
Resurrections further highlighted how the idea of The One was just another system of control formed by The Matrix, and The Matrix 5 could properly play with this idea. A new main character could be The One, mirroring Neo’s character arc but taking it in a different direction. Due to how dense the lore of The Matrix is, playing with it is always fun, and doing it in this way would be enough to justify The Matrix 5.
The Matrix 5 Will Actually Be A Second Renaissance Prequel Movie
One way in which these past two theories could come true is if The Matrix 5 isn’t a sequel. Instead, it could be a prequel focused on the Second Renaissance. The Second Renaissance is an arc told in two segments of the animated anthology film, The Animatrix. These segments explain the backstory of The Matrix franchise, leading up to the events of the first film.
According to The Animatrix, the first Machine killed its human owner in 2090. A trial occurred in which the Machine lost and was deactivated. This led to worldwide Machine revolts, uprisings, and more violence. Eventually, the Machines former their own nation, known as Zero One. Their rapid development led to Zero One becoming the most powerful nation on Earth. The human world starts a blockade of the country, leading to nuclear war. Eventually, the humans black out the sun in order to stop the Machine’s solar power. So, the Machines kidnap humans and use them as batteries, as is seen in The Matrix.
This saga is epic, and fans of The Matrix have wanted to see it in live-action for years. The Matrix 5 finally pulling this off would be incredible, with it being a more grounded and serious take on the franchise after the events of The Matrix Resurrections.
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