As the original The Matrix trilogy ended in The Matrix Revolutions, Neo sacrifices himself to prevail against an Agent Smith that fully ran amok, saving both the Matrix and the real world in the process. However, apart from the Oracle and Sati witnessing a sunrise, it’s not known exactly what happened to Zion, the rest of humanity, and to the simulation.
As fans know, The Matrix continues in The Matrix Resurrections, awakening fans to the reality that the Matrix is indeed still up and running to some capacity. While The Matrix Resurrections highlights the role of new characters in reawakening Neo and Trinity to the reality of a new Matrix, it’s curious to see just how some of the older characters fared after the rather cliffhanger ending of Revolutions. Spoilers ahead!
7 Neo, Thomas Anderson
It’s not a film within The Matrix if there’s no presence of Mister Anderson, and Keanu Reeves is back with the iconic character. In Resurrections, Thomas Anderson resurfaces in the simulation, this time as a game designer popular for having designed a game series called The Matrix.
As per the film, The Matrix games have the same characters and stories as with the original trilogy. This time around, Tom suffers from psychotic breaks as he struggles to distinguish his reality as a game designer from his fantasies as Neo in the games. However, chance encounters with someone named Bugs will have Tom question his existence once more.
6 Trinity, Tiffany
Trinity makes a presence in Resurrections, but not at Neo’s side. This time around, Carrie-Anne Moss plays Tiffany, someone married to Chad (no kidding) with two kids and has quite a notable love for motorcycles. Tiffany frequents Simulatte, the same coffee shop Tom loves to visit and hang out in.
According to Resurrections, Tom has noticed Tiffany visiting the store for quite some time now, establishing a meta-narrative that Tom built Trinity with Tiffany’s likeness. A chance encounter would have Tom and Tiff - Neo and Trinity - spend more time together, and in turn equally question their nature in the grand scheme of things.
5 Morpheus
Completing the returnees from the Resistance side will be Morpheus, but Laurence Fishburne will unfortunately not be returning to reprise his role. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will embrace the role of Neo’s mentor, with his new appearance baffling both Tom and the other characters alike.
In Resurrections, this iteration of Morpheus is revealed to be a program made of Tom’s own code. Morpheus himself states that he could only surmise that Tom built him as a combination of two figures that helped him know who he was - his mentor Morpheus, and his nemesis Agent Smith.
4 Agent Smith
Like two sides of the same coin, there cannot be Thomas Anderson without Agent Smith lurking around the corner. Similar to Morpheus, Hugo Weaving won’t be returning to play the part of the iconic rogue Agent. Rather, Jonathan Groff will play another Smith, this time serving as Thomas Anderson’s business partner at Deus Machina.
In Resurrections, it’s revealed that Tom may have used his tense relationship with Smith as the basis of Neo’s rivalry with Agent Smith. However, what’s even more interesting is that Smith’s reveal of Warner Bros. having Deus Machina create a new game called The Matrix 4 that stirred something deep within Tom’s psyche.
3 Niobe
When Tom inevitably returns to being Neo, his new crew brings him to humanity’s new last bastion - Io. Here, Tom once again meets Niobe, now an aged General Niobe, played by Jada Pinkett Smith. This immediately reveals that Niobe witnessed a lot of events after Neo’s supposed death in the events of Revolutions, and somehow her experience earned her the title of Io’s leader.
Despite her limited role in the film, it’s refreshing to see that humanity’s last effort against the Machines is being led by someone who witnessed Neo’s heroics in the past. And while Niobe’s leadership may be causing friction with young and enthusiastic captains in Io, it seems her wisdom is something they are all glad to hear.
2 Sati
Young Sati becomes all grown up in Resurrections, this time played by Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Reloaded introduces Sati as the program offspring of Rama Kandra and Kamala. Being “created’ by fellow programs, Sati was built “without purpose,” unlike other programs with designated programming. As such, Rama Kandra’s struggle in the trilogy was to give Sati safe passage within the Matrix, and hide under the care of the Oracle.
It seems Sati now performs a similar role in Resurrections, given the Oracle’s absence. Given Rama Kandra’s involvement in future events, Sati has useful knowledge Neo may need to succeed in his mission of understanding the nature of this new Matrix.
1 The Merovingian
Any fan of The Matrix would remember the dazzling performance of Lambert Wilson as the Merovingian, a famed data trafficker and one of the oldest Exile programs in The Matrix. While Neo manages to hold off the Merovingian and his forces in the trilogy, their fates were left unknown until Resurrections.
In the sequel, the Merovingian and what’s left of his crew manage to confront Neo, with a grizzled Merovingian particularly upset at how Neo “stole” his life, alongside some meta-gaming rambling. As to how he managed to survive the events of Revolutions and remain in hiding in the new Matrix in Resurrections remains to be revealed.
The Matrix Resurrections was released on December 22, 2021 in the United States.