This article contains spoilers for The Matrix Resurrections
One of the most intriguing revelations in The Matrix Resurrections is how long after the originals it takes place. A glance at Neo and Trinity, and you’d assume that it’s set twenty years on from The Matrix Revolutions – roughly the same amount of time real-world audiences have been away from the Matrix.
So it was a surprise that it’s been sixty years since Neo traveled to the machine city and ended the war between machines and humans. After his and Trinity’s deaths, they were revived as key components of the next Matrix, with a swarm of machines dedicated to ensuring the upkeep of their physical bodies as they slept.
This meant that for most of the characters, Neo and Trinity were legends from the past. But one character lived long enough to see them return: Jada Pinkett Smith’s Niobe played a key role in the sequels (and starred in video game side story Enter the Matrix). By the time of Resurrections, she’s in her eighties and is the leader of IO, a new city where synthetic and organic intelligence co-exist in peace.
Now, via her Instagram, she’s revealed how long that transformation took. Check it out:
Old-age makeup has long been a staple of Hollywood, though rarely looks this convincing. Lana Wachowski utilized the technique heavily in Cloud Atlas, though saw varied results. But old Niobe is something of a triumph and probably worthy of an Oscar nod in the makeup category.
Opinion is split on Resurrections and will likely remain that way, but whatever your take on its metafictional action, at least it was a swing for the fences.
The Matrix Resurrections is now in theaters and on HBO Max.