# The Matrix (franchise)

**The Matrix franchise** is an American science fiction media franchise centered on *The Matrix* (1999), the Wachowskis' film about humans unknowingly imprisoned in a simulated reality by sentient machines, and its sequels, spin-offs, games, and philosophical afterlife. The first film was a sleeper hit that became a cultural phenomenon, and the property grew into one of Warner Bros.' signature brands, grossing the studio over $1.5 billion across its film trilogy, television, and video game output.<sup>[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/matrix-wachowskis-keanu-reeves)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://time.com/3713237/jupiter-descending-wachowskis/)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First film | *The Matrix* (1999), written and directed by the Wachowskis; a sleeper hit that became a cultural phenomenon<sup>[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/matrix-wachowskis-keanu-reeves)</sup> |
| Original trilogy | *The Matrix Reloaded* and *The Matrix Revolutions*, both released in 2003<sup>[3](https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-store-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003222262/d4209b18-2059-4e59-aa5b-b7614091b475/preview.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=ASIAQFVOSJ57RHRVOLTM&Expires=1770677864&Signature=Lhc5zZVsU94dUuRIgFteyYtUkCI%3D&response-content-disposition=attachment%3B+filename%3D%2210.4324_9781003222262_previewpdf.pdf%22&x-amz-security-token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEM3%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJIMEYCIQCrgUBXpl%2FBTTCK0Wy1iUtwt8ka8If8Q4HMZEivz%2F2%2BGgIhALXvf0BreDAqO4yaumPPNCI8YdEzoLYVDbuBmhm3FrodKpYECJX%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEQBBoMMDEyMTc3MjY0NTExIgxgG1rerf9bmctqzekq6gNmnAN3N9Av9FJ8qbcEGC315lTeLHCySV5hn3gRZjouHl55yvEIxCqU4VaGdwlNpP4zJV6fZOn1aNT03C5Efep3JoC5DNnsPh7sI74oIsR0uSy83CMRsW4qeq%2FHxniUDWW%2FElodW8KZUL9F9X2gbpRT%2BJK2H%2B31RbFXNKgn52uuRO6q8wDvtkzLtnenlaJLDpgHZPnzuXqGy%2BeE8tENf9AGr2WyLxO6Rk1IF8Jz63hmKkxOn5wtB2JvvWon7J%2BKvOpVhZj%2Fk4xxmmeVTDvGiFKHuYzkltexg6TA2g%2BwUaJj0unWCXGPUXe%2F9d7KKZR3ibGekMa0MeFx4a%2FXKV8SUcll8BWONlBeDl4V4USgAXefc7hpsWq8y7RRxJ0Jr8XxiGb8FOIl6K3UHUdpDvhqJ0IXA3pEHrwzoh62yhANthU96VwN5abp8x%2BqO%2BTyzsgAiZWBQjQm2kZwN12kaZfkH92t%2BrxJpu5PWOW4CuxobEFss1KZCWU9x6yK3Yh%2ByQVLyUMVFc79YqiqgQkV2HNXjA1CItmsg9c6DUBMPGLZ0%2FddI8xRGzSW48CT32FtsHFAfH%2BkW87mr54KvKQOxL3PJQFb8ls50oH8HmdYT2EU2kQReNHDWPEudHnF5qLhEh2Lph7dRXmlN1afahuvMPH8qMwGOqQBY4Tu28Ujj92cx%2BGe7oBm6OZP4EL%2Bc4JH1M9XiwqHP7h3R%2FIAYmuUTqgP9iODrqG3nYVqTqkITcbGjJzV188RXgf5pp0%2FtrK3D9h97q9EtJNzso1Gc%2BqM4DDl4QPC63b1khG4WWlc5l72fRsafzZB5ZKkj1mxS0j6ZvLoAc5jpxwtmbXqEx8RwtJVh3pRn3swflYwoINcWZx%2Bx1pGiYc20xHaURM%3D)</sup> |
| Franchise revenue | Over $1.5 billion grossed for Warner Bros. across the film trilogy, TV show, and video game franchise<sup>[2](https://time.com/3713237/jupiter-descending-wachowskis/)</sup> |
| Transmedia scope | Animated anthology (*The Animatrix*), video games including *The Matrix Online* (2005), comics, and novels tied to the films' core narrative<sup>[4](https://time.com/6129306/matrix-trilogy-recap/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://as.com/meristation/cine/matrix-revoluciono-el-sector-audiovisual-su-universo-fue-considerado-el-primer-gran-ejemplo-de-producto-transmedia-f202604-n/)</sup> |
| Fourth film | *The Matrix Resurrections* (2021), directed by Lana Wachowski and co-written by Wachowski, David Mitchell, and Aleksandar Hemon, released in theaters and on HBO Max on December 22, 2021<sup>[4](https://time.com/6129306/matrix-trilogy-recap/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[24](https://www.thematrix.com/?trk=organization-update_share-update_update-text)</sup> |
| Fifth film | Greenlit in 2024, with Drew Goddard signed to write and direct in collaboration with Lana Wachowski<sup>[6](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/matrix-5-gets-a-brand-new-update-from-writer-and-director-drew-goddard/)</sup> |
| Philosophical reach | Built around Jean Baudrillard's *Simulacra and Simulation* and classic questions of skepticism, reality, and free will; the subject of multiple academic essay collections<sup>[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/matrix-wachowskis-keanu-reeves)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://academic.oup.com/book/50151)</sup> |

## The films

**The 1999 film.** *The Matrix* depicts a future in which machines imprison human minds inside an artificial reality while converting human body heat into bio-thermal power; the hacker Neo ([Keanu Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/keanu-reeves)) is awakened to the real world and recruited to fight the system.<sup>[8](https://americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/fall_2023/tembo.htm)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://time.com/6096373/matrix-4-resurrections/)</sup> The BFI describes it as a sleeper hit that became a cultural phenomenon, and notes that the Wachowskis loaded the script with biblical, literary, mythological, and philosophical references. Before Reeves even opened the script, the directors had him read [Jean Baudrillard](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-baudrillard)'s *Simulacra and Simulation*, Kevin Kelly's *Out of Control*, and Dylan Evans' *Introducing Evolutionary Psychology*.<sup>[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/matrix-wachowskis-keanu-reeves)</sup> One industry account called it Warner Bros.' "first genuine franchise since the [Lethal Weapon](https://www.edgepedia.org/lethal-weapon-franchise)" films, and the studio quickly set two sequels in motion after its runaway success.<sup>[10](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=921507cc8be0aa40246b28ed68d90c5112c8d328&repid=rep1&type=pdf)</sup>

**The sequels.** *The Matrix Reloaded* and *The Matrix Revolutions*, both released in 2003, continued the story: [Agent Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/agent-smith) returns as a self-replicating virus, and the program known as the [Architect](https://www.edgepedia.org/architect) reveals that Neo is the sixth "One" and that the prophecy is a failsafe allowing the Machines to keep humans alive in the Matrix.<sup>[3](https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-store-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003222262/d4209b18-2059-4e59-aa5b-b7614091b475/preview.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=ASIAQFVOSJ57RHRVOLTM&Expires=1770677864&Signature=Lhc5zZVsU94dUuRIgFteyYtUkCI%3D&response-content-disposition=attachment%3B+filename%3D%2210.4324_9781003222262_previewpdf.pdf%22&x-amz-security-token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEM3%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJIMEYCIQCrgUBXpl%2FBTTCK0Wy1iUtwt8ka8If8Q4HMZEivz%2F2%2BGgIhALXvf0BreDAqO4yaumPPNCI8YdEzoLYVDbuBmhm3FrodKpYECJX%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEQBBoMMDEyMTc3MjY0NTExIgxgG1rerf9bmctqzekq6gNmnAN3N9Av9FJ8qbcEGC315lTeLHCySV5hn3gRZjouHl55yvEIxCqU4VaGdwlNpP4zJV6fZOn1aNT03C5Efep3JoC5DNnsPh7sI74oIsR0uSy83CMRsW4qeq%2FHxniUDWW%2FElodW8KZUL9F9X2gbpRT%2BJK2H%2B31RbFXNKgn52uuRO6q8wDvtkzLtnenlaJLDpgHZPnzuXqGy%2BeE8tENf9AGr2WyLxO6Rk1IF8Jz63hmKkxOn5wtB2JvvWon7J%2BKvOpVhZj%2Fk4xxmmeVTDvGiFKHuYzkltexg6TA2g%2BwUaJj0unWCXGPUXe%2F9d7KKZR3ibGekMa0MeFx4a%2FXKV8SUcll8BWONlBeDl4V4USgAXefc7hpsWq8y7RRxJ0Jr8XxiGb8FOIl6K3UHUdpDvhqJ0IXA3pEHrwzoh62yhANthU96VwN5abp8x%2BqO%2BTyzsgAiZWBQjQm2kZwN12kaZfkH92t%2BrxJpu5PWOW4CuxobEFss1KZCWU9x6yK3Yh%2ByQVLyUMVFc79YqiqgQkV2HNXjA1CItmsg9c6DUBMPGLZ0%2FddI8xRGzSW48CT32FtsHFAfH%2BkW87mr54KvKQOxL3PJQFb8ls50oH8HmdYT2EU2kQReNHDWPEudHnF5qLhEh2Lph7dRXmlN1afahuvMPH8qMwGOqQBY4Tu28Ujj92cx%2BGe7oBm6OZP4EL%2Bc4JH1M9XiwqHP7h3R%2FIAYmuUTqgP9iODrqG3nYVqTqkITcbGjJzV188RXgf5pp0%2FtrK3D9h97q9EtJNzso1Gc%2BqM4DDl4QPC63b1khG4WWlc5l72fRsafzZB5ZKkj1mxS0j6ZvLoAc5jpxwtmbXqEx8RwtJVh3pRn3swflYwoINcWZx%2Bx1pGiYc20xHaURM%3D)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://time.com/6129306/matrix-trilogy-recap/)</sup> The sequels were widely written off as bloated, confusing, and self-indulgent, criticisms that became cultural shorthand, though reappraisals have argued that their excess and philosophical density are central to their ambition.<sup>[11](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/i-rewatched-the-matrix-reloaded-realized-biggest-criticisms-are-what-make-it-secretly-great)</sup>

**Resurrections.** Warner Bros. repeatedly asked Lana and Lilly Wachowski to make another entry in the profitable franchise, and the pair kept saying no, until grief prompted Lana Wachowski to conceive a story she wanted to tell. Lilly Wachowski declined to participate, making *The Matrix Resurrections* the first film in the franchise directed by only one half of the sibling team.<sup>[4](https://time.com/6129306/matrix-trilogy-recap/)</sup> Released on December 22, 2021 in theaters and on [HBO Max](https://www.edgepedia.org/hbo-max), it returns to Reeves and [Carrie-Anne Moss](https://www.edgepedia.org/carrie-anne-moss) as Neo and Trinity, with [Yahya Abdul-Mateen II](https://www.edgepedia.org/yahya-abdul-mateen-ii) taking over a resurrected role; Laurence Fishburne said repeatedly that he was not invited back as Morpheus.<sup>[4](https://time.com/6129306/matrix-trilogy-recap/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[9](https://time.com/6096373/matrix-4-resurrections/)</sup> The film met a divisive reception and stands as the least successful film in the franchise.<sup>[6](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/matrix-5-gets-a-brand-new-update-from-writer-and-director-drew-goddard/)</sup> Scholars have read it as Baudrillardian metacommentary that critiques its own commodification and endless reproduction, and as a reappraisal of the franchise's themes that reclaims the red pill through a story centered on love.<sup>[12](https://classicalconnection.pubpub.org/pub/wccfks38/release/1)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/how-lana-wachowski-changed-the-style-of-the-matrix-franchise-to-break-free-from-a-patriarchal-legacy/)</sup>

## Transmedia expansion

The franchise is frequently cited as the first great example of a transmedia product: its universe spread across cinema, television, novels, and comics, with each product independent of the film yet collaborating on the series' marketing reach into new niches.<sup>[5](https://as.com/meristation/cine/matrix-revoluciono-el-sector-audiovisual-su-universo-fue-considerado-el-primer-gran-ejemplo-de-producto-transmedia-f202604-n/)</sup> *[The Animatrix](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-animatrix)*, an anthology film produced by the Wachowskis, came out ahead of *Reloaded* in 2003 and includes *The Second Renaissance*, a two-part segment explaining the backstory of how the Machines first arose.<sup>[4](https://time.com/6129306/matrix-trilogy-recap/)</sup> [The Wachowskis](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-wachowskis) wanted the tie-in games to be a legitimate part of the cinematic world they were building, and *The Matrix Online*, a now-long-defunct online game released in 2005, was the official continuation of the story, in which Morpheus actually died.<sup>[14](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/hideo-kojima-just-found-out-that-konami-turned-down-the-chance-to-make-a-matrix-game-26-years-ago-if-someone-had-told-me-maybe-there-couldve-been-a-way-to-make-it-work/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://time.com/6129306/matrix-trilogy-recap/)</sup> In a 2007 analysis, Jennifer M. Proffitt, Djung Yune Tchoi, and Matthew P. McAllister, media scholars writing in the *Journal of Communication Inquiry*, argued that the franchise provided global Hollywood with a model for channeling revenue and fans through linked multimedia revenue streams, expanding marketing strategies for commodity-oriented media texts while undermining the original film's critique of consumer culture.<sup>[15](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0196859907300955)</sup> Henry Jenkins, the media scholar who theorized transmedia storytelling in *Convergence Culture* (2006), read *The Animatrix* as an example of "transcreation" and noted that the feature films embedded multinational and multicultural references designed to give audiences in many parts of the world toeholds within the franchise.<sup>[16](https://esp.mit.edu/download/325f5eaf866f28321a67c005b24759b1/H6379_jenkins-2006-unicorn.pdf)</sup>

## Philosophy and scholarship

The trilogy is unusual among popular films in being constructed around classic philosophical questions that have fascinated thinkers for thousands of years, and Oxford published *Philosophers Explore The Matrix* (2003) as an accessible entry to those ideas.<sup>[7](https://academic.oup.com/book/50151)</sup> Collections including William Irwin's *The Matrix and Philosophy*, Glenn Yeffeth's *Taking the Red Pill*, and Matt Lawrence's *Like a Splinter in Your Mind* treat the films as a gateway to broader ideas, and some scholars view the franchise as transcending popular culture itself by making difficult theory accessible.<sup>[8](https://americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/fall_2023/tembo.htm)</sup> The philosopher [David Chalmers](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-chalmers), in "The Matrix as Metaphysics," argues that the standard brain-in-a-vat reading is endorsed by the films' creators, but adds a more specific claim: that the computational processes underlying the Matrix's physical space-time were designed as a computer simulation of a world, a hypothesis Chalmers contends is not as skeptical as it appears.<sup>[17](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118922590.ch5)</sup> Work in the journal *Screen* has examined how the trilogy's imagery enters an active dialogue with Baudrillard's concept of the hyperreal, changing the construction of key philosophical concepts rather than merely illustrating them.<sup>[18](https://academic.oup.com/screen/article-abstract/47/2/233/1647692?login=false)</sup> Scholarship has also engaged the franchise's sociology and gender politics, including analyses of masculine domination and the body, and of *Resurrections* reconstructing Neo's heroic masculinity alongside Trinity as an inseparable counterpart.<sup>[19](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361395999_Bodies_in_Pods_Masculine_Domination_Sexuality_and_Love_in_The_Matrix_Franchise)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[20](https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/publications/nonviolent-utopias-heroes-transgressing-the-gender-binary-in-ithe/)</sup>

## Cultural impact and appropriation

The red pill and blue pill have lasted decades as common parlance on the internet to describe all manner of cultural, political, and psychological phenomena.<sup>[9](https://time.com/6096373/matrix-4-resurrections/)</sup> That afterlife is mixed. A [Middlesex University](https://www.edgepedia.org/middlesex-university) research project notes that, 25 years on, a film directed by two trans women, with a headlining star of mixed Asian-Pacific heritage, strong women characters, and a supporting cast notable for its inclusion of Black American actors, has been embraced enthusiastically by the anti-feminist and white nationalist alt-right and its culture of conspiracy theory; the films' [New Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-age) imagery has fed into "conspirituality," the coincidence of extreme right-wing conspiracy thinking with mind-body-spirit practices.<sup>[21](https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/213xq7)</sup> The franchise's formal influence on filmmaking is more straightforwardly acknowledged: despite not being based on a comic, it helped pave the way for the modern comic book movie genre, influencing the look and tone of the X-Men films and [Christopher Nolan](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-nolan)'s *Batman Begins* (2005).<sup>[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/matrix-wachowskis-keanu-reeves)</sup> Its anniversary still draws new formats: for the film's 25th anniversary, the immersive venue company Cosm ran shared-reality screenings of the original film inside 87-foot LED domes in Dallas and Inglewood, California, starting June 6, with the environment dynamically mirroring the on-screen action.<sup>[22](https://apnews.com/article/1a1b53d70386894bd38657c5e584d80f)</sup>

## The franchise's future

A fifth Matrix film was greenlit in 2024, with [Drew Goddard](https://www.edgepedia.org/drew-goddard), the creator of Netflix's *Daredevil* and director of *The Cabin in the Woods*, signed to write and direct, the first time the Wachowskis have handed the live-action property to someone else, in collaboration with Lana Wachowski.<sup>[6](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/matrix-5-gets-a-brand-new-update-from-writer-and-director-drew-goddard/)</sup> Lilly Wachowski has said she is "kinda done" with the franchise, and reporting indicates the fifth film's progress depends on the Wachowskis' blessing, which Goddard has sought.<sup>[23](https://as.com/meristation/cine/el-futuro-de-matrix-se-complica-lilly-wachowski-da-por-terminada-su-etapa-en-la-saga-y-la-quinta-pelicula-depende-de-su-visto-bueno-f202609-n/)</sup>

## References

1. [The Matrix: how the Wachowskis changed sci-fi, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/matrix-wachowskis-keanu-reeves)
2. [Now That Jupiter Has Descended, What's Next for the Wachowskis?, Time](https://time.com/3713237/jupiter-descending-wachowskis/)
3. [Routledge Advances in Film Studies (preview chapter on The Matrix)](https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-store-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003222262/d4209b18-2059-4e59-aa5b-b7614091b475/preview.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=ASIAQFVOSJ57RHRVOLTM&Expires=1770677864&Signature=Lhc5zZVsU94dUuRIgFteyYtUkCI%3D&response-content-disposition=attachment%3B+filename%3D%2210.4324_9781003222262_previewpdf.pdf%22&x-amz-security-token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEM3%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJIMEYCIQCrgUBXpl%2FBTTCK0Wy1iUtwt8ka8If8Q4HMZEivz%2F2%2BGgIhALXvf0BreDAqO4yaumPPNCI8YdEzoLYVDbuBmhm3FrodKpYECJX%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEQBBoMMDEyMTc3MjY0NTExIgxgG1rerf9bmctqzekq6gNmnAN3N9Av9FJ8qbcEGC315lTeLHCySV5hn3gRZjouHl55yvEIxCqU4VaGdwlNpP4zJV6fZOn1aNT03C5Efep3JoC5DNnsPh7sI74oIsR0uSy83CMRsW4qeq%2FHxniUDWW%2FElodW8KZUL9F9X2gbpRT%2BJK2H%2B31RbFXNKgn52uuRO6q8wDvtkzLtnenlaJLDpgHZPnzuXqGy%2BeE8tENf9AGr2WyLxO6Rk1IF8Jz63hmKkxOn5wtB2JvvWon7J%2BKvOpVhZj%2Fk4xxmmeVTDvGiFKHuYzkltexg6TA2g%2BwUaJj0unWCXGPUXe%2F9d7KKZR3ibGekMa0MeFx4a%2FXKV8SUcll8BWONlBeDl4V4USgAXefc7hpsWq8y7RRxJ0Jr8XxiGb8FOIl6K3UHUdpDvhqJ0IXA3pEHrwzoh62yhANthU96VwN5abp8x%2BqO%2BTyzsgAiZWBQjQm2kZwN12kaZfkH92t%2BrxJpu5PWOW4CuxobEFss1KZCWU9x6yK3Yh%2ByQVLyUMVFc79YqiqgQkV2HNXjA1CItmsg9c6DUBMPGLZ0%2FddI8xRGzSW48CT32FtsHFAfH%2BkW87mr54KvKQOxL3PJQFb8ls50oH8HmdYT2EU2kQReNHDWPEudHnF5qLhEh2Lph7dRXmlN1afahuvMPH8qMwGOqQBY4Tu28Ujj92cx%2BGe7oBm6OZP4EL%2Bc4JH1M9XiwqHP7h3R%2FIAYmuUTqgP9iODrqG3nYVqTqkITcbGjJzV188RXgf5pp0%2FtrK3D9h97q9EtJNzso1Gc%2BqM4DDl4QPC63b1khG4WWlc5l72fRsafzZB5ZKkj1mxS0j6ZvLoAc5jpxwtmbXqEx8RwtJVh3pRn3swflYwoINcWZx%2Bx1pGiYc20xHaURM%3D)
4. [Everything To Remember About the Matrix Trilogy Before You See The Matrix Resurrections, Time](https://time.com/6129306/matrix-trilogy-recap/)
5. ['Matrix' revolucionó el sector audiovisual: el primer gran ejemplo de producto transmedia, AS Meristation](https://as.com/meristation/cine/matrix-revoluciono-el-sector-audiovisual-su-universo-fue-considerado-el-primer-gran-ejemplo-de-producto-transmedia-f202604-n/)
6. [Matrix 5 gets a brand new update from writer and director Drew Goddard, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/action-movies/matrix-5-gets-a-brand-new-update-from-writer-and-director-drew-goddard/)
7. [Philosophers Explore The Matrix, Oxford Academic](https://academic.oup.com/book/50151)
8. [The Matrix and transcendence, Americana: The Journal of American Popular Culture](https://americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/fall_2023/tembo.htm)
9. [How The Matrix Resurrections Trailer Evokes the Franchise's First Movie, Time](https://time.com/6096373/matrix-4-resurrections/)
10. [The New Blockbuster Film Sequel, Library and Archives Canada thesis](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=921507cc8be0aa40246b28ed68d90c5112c8d328&repid=rep1&type=pdf)
11. [I Rewatched The Matrix Reloaded And Realized Its Biggest Criticisms Are What Make It Secretly Great, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/i-rewatched-the-matrix-reloaded-realized-biggest-criticisms-are-what-make-it-secretly-great)
12. [The Matrix Resurrections as Baudrillardian Metacommentary, Classical Connection](https://classicalconnection.pubpub.org/pub/wccfks38/release/1)
13. [How Lana Wachowski changed the style of 'The Matrix' franchise, ACMI](https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/how-lana-wachowski-changed-the-style-of-the-matrix-franchise-to-break-free-from-a-patriarchal-legacy/)
14. [Hideo Kojima on Konami turning down a Matrix game, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/hideo-kojima-just-found-out-that-konami-turned-down-the-chance-to-make-a-matrix-game-26-years-ago-if-someone-had-told-me-maybe-there-couldve-been-a-way-to-make-it-work/)
15. [Plugging Back Into The Matrix, Proffitt, Tchoi & McAllister (2007), Journal of Communication Inquiry](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0196859907300955)
16. [Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture (2006)](https://esp.mit.edu/download/325f5eaf866f28321a67c005b24759b1/H6379_jenkins-2006-unicorn.pdf)
17. [David Chalmers, The Matrix as Metaphysics, in Science Fiction and Philosophy (Wiley)](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118922590.ch5)
18. [Baudrillard reloaded: interrelating philosophy and film via The Matrix Trilogy, Screen](https://academic.oup.com/screen/article-abstract/47/2/233/1647692?login=false)
19. [Bodies in Pods: Masculine Domination, Sexuality, and Love in The Matrix Franchise](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361395999_Bodies_in_Pods_Masculine_Domination_Sexuality_and_Love_in_The_Matrix_Franchise)
20. [Nonviolent utopias: heroes transgressing the gender binary in The Matrix Resurrections, University of Strathclyde](https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/publications/nonviolent-utopias-heroes-transgressing-the-gender-binary-in-ithe/)
21. [Don't take the fascist pill, Neo: techno-orientalism, kung fu, and conspirituality in the afterlives of The Matrix, Middlesex University Research Repository](https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/213xq7)
22. [Immersive tech reshapes music and film landscape, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/1a1b53d70386894bd38657c5e584d80f)
23. [El futuro de 'Matrix': Lilly Wachowski da por terminada su etapa en la saga, AS Meristation](https://as.com/meristation/cine/el-futuro-de-matrix-se-complica-lilly-wachowski-da-por-terminada-su-etapa-en-la-saga-y-la-quinta-pelicula-depende-de-su-visto-bueno-f202609-n/)
24. [The Matrix Resurrections, Official Site](https://www.thematrix.com/?trk=organization-update_share-update_update-text)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › Science fiction and fantasy film characters › Science fiction film characters*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license