The first trailer for The Matrix Resurrections ends with a beginning: Going back to where it all started, The Matrix. That the trailer seems a little caught in its own kind of loop makes sense considering the narrative bends that writer/director Lana Wachowski will necessarily need to take to bring Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie Anne-Moss) back to a post-Revolutions world. But it also fits in with everything we’ve learned about Resurrections so far. The play-and-replay marketing of the first teaser snippets, which gave us glimpses at footage based on when we accessed the site, and the casting of Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a serious pill-offering, tiny sunglass-wearing Morpheus figure (or maybe just a young Morpheus?) brings home the point that what was old is new again.
As for what’s actually going on in the trailer, beyond its themes and beyond its teases of a Neo/Trinity reunion, is much more up for debate. A mind is freed, but to where? The same Matrix we know? Look at the first trailer and make up your own mind:
Take a look:
Wachowski brought along much of her Sense8 team for this film, which looks as stylish and colorful as the original was striking. Boy, it’s nice to see a sci-fi/action blockbuster with a real sense of style. You get plenty of motorcycle stunts, building jumps, akimbo shooting, portal discovery and reality-bending. And naturally, kung fu. The Matrix is back.
The Matrix Resurrections hits theaters and HBO Max on December 22.