But who is getting resurrected?

Jesus or John Wick? Whichever works, perhaps, as Neo has always been one of the most identifiable Jesus-figure in modern pop culture (Screenshot/Warner Bros., HBO Max)

If you’re someone who’s quite particular with words, then it probably didn’t escape your notice that the title of the latest addition The Matrix franchise is in plural and not singular.

So who is—or are—getting resurrected? Or have they been already?

Diehard fans of the trilogy of films made by the Wachowski sisters probably have their own theories by now, with the recent release of the first trailer for the new Matrix film. As promised, “The Matrix Resurrections” isn’t going to be a reboot of the franchise. It’s an entirely new film, a resurrection of the world that has defined much of today’s modern sci-fi flicks.

While the new trailer is short, there are already a ton of details that have fans and the curious asking questions, making connections, following their own “white rabbits” into the crazy universe of man-versus-machine that The Matrix has so beautifully defined in its original trilogy—oh, and yeah, sorry Neil Patrick Harris (who appears in the trailer as a shrink) for using that word.

None of the iconic bullet time sequence in the trailer, but at least Neo, seen here with Trinity, can still stop bullets (Screenshot/Warner Bros., HBO Max)

One of the more famous questions is, what happened to Morpheus actor Laurence Fishburne, who unlike his original trilogy castmates Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss does not make any appearance in the trailer. Those who have been following the developments since the announcement of this new film in 2019 would recall that Fishburne once said in an interview with Collider that he won’t be in the new film, and that he doesn’t have an answer to why.

Clearly Fishburne isn’t getting resurrected in this new film, but it seems his character Morpheus is. At least, that’s who most people think Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Aquaman,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7”) is playing based on his appearance in the trailer, with the blue and red pills and all, and with that iconic martial arts dojo scene together with Reeves’ Thomas Anderson aka Neo aka “The One” aka the dude who died in the third Matrix film to setup a truce between the machines and what’s left of humankind. So did he really die? He clearly gets resurrected in “The Matrix Resurrections” and back into a version of the simulated reality humanity’s machine overlords have so graciously provided. Also seemingly getting resurrected is Trinity, with Moss making an appearance in the trailer, but also through a new character played by Jessica Henwick (“Game of Thrones,” “Iron Fist”) who moves like Neo’s love interest in the original trilogy.

Jessica Henwick and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II during a corridor fight scene that shows both their characters running away from agents—or is Jessica chasing Yahya? (Screenshot/Warner Bros., HBO Max)

Replete with easter eggs and reference to the original trilogy, “The Matrix Resurrections” have fans geeking out with excitement for an opportunity to once again take the red pill into Wonderland to see how far the rabbit hole goes this time around—or is it the blue one because we’re technically going into a fantasy world?

“The Matrix Resurrections” is set for release on Dec. 22, 2021. Check out the trailer below.

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