It might have been a groundbreaking effort in both the action and sci-fi genres, one that had a huge effect on cinema at the turn of the millennium and found itself so widely imitated that the movie’s signature moments had been reduced to parody in virtually no time at all, but at its heart, The Matrix was a love story between Keanu Reeves’ Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss’ Trinity.
The fate of the entire world may have been at stake in a battle between the hardened human survivors and the machines that had enslaved them, but the emotional beats of the narrative were always driven by the two aforementioned heroes. It might have become a little cloying and heavy-handed as the Wachowskis struggled with having their writing match their ambitions, but it was ultimately a tale of two people doing everything in their power to be together, with a war spanning two separate realities always getting caught in the middle.
Plot details about the fourth installment are still firmly under wraps, but Reeves did blow a hole in some of the fan theories when he confirmed that the movie wouldn’t be venturing into the past, and will take place after the events of Revolutions. The John Wick star also offered up some new details on the story, though, admitting that his return to The Matrix will once again be a tale about love.
“We’re out here trying to make some magic. We have a wonderful director, Lana Wachowski, and she has written a beautiful script that is a love story. It’s inspiring.”
Hopefully The Matrix 4 has found a new angle to approach the duo’s relationship from, because a lot of fans had grown tired of the Neo and Trinity arc by the time the original trilogy had drawn to a close. Maybe he’s talking about two entirely different characters, but it’ll be a while before we find out either way, with the production still shrouded in secrecy having only recently resumed in Germany.