In The Matrix Resurrections, could Trinity, rather than Neo, actually be the new incarnation of the One? Nearly two decades after The Matrix trilogy originally wrapped up, Resurrections will hit theaters and HBO Max (per WB’s pandemic-era release strategy) on December 22. After the new first trailer for the fourth film in the series, anticipation is high and theories are ramping up by the day, and of course, it wouldn’t be the proper Matrix 4 pre-release experience without them.
It sounds cliché today to say that The Matrix changed cinema, but it remains an undeniable fact. Its bullet-time effects and wire-fu martial arts sequences raised the bar for sci-fi and action movies, to the point it could possibly even create retroactive challenges of the Matrix Resurrections sequel seeming derivative now. The original Matrix‘s premise of humanity being subjugated by machines in a simulated dream world with a prophesied Messiah emerging to end the war put a whole new spin on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave that continues to be picked apart, theorized over, and re-examined to this day. Even with all of that in mind, audiences are still going into The Matrix Resurrections with more questions than answers, and with The Matrix, that’s the only way to do it right.
Despite the deaths of both Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) in The Matrix Revolutions, both are expectedly returning in Resurrections, which could be from where the fourth chapter of the series derives its title. However, aside from both Neo and Trinity not remembering each other or their previous experiences, as seen in the Resurrections trailer, something seems different about Trinity in particular. There are many possible explanations for why that is, but a particularly tantalizing one is that she, not Neo, is now the seventh embodiment of the One in The Matrix Resurrections.
How Is Trinity Back In The Matrix: Resurrections?
One of the big questions going into Resurrections is how exactly Trinity is back in the Matrix in the first place. While Neo’s death occurred when he was plugged into the Matrix in the Machine City, Trinity died in the real world without being connected to any interface, with the Machines seemingly unaware of her demise. However, a brief moment in the Resurrections trailer could indicate that there’s more to Trinity’s return than meets the eye.
In a snippet of a scene with Neo, the code of the Matrix can be seen on Trinity’s cheek. Aside from the possibility of Trinity being a threat to the Matrix’s Machines like Neo, this could mean that the Machines were able to find her body after she and Neo crashed near the Machine City and were able to re-insert her into the Matrix with a memory wipe. Alternatively, she might simply have been reconstructed from Neo’s own memory when he was re-inserted, but with Neo being the One, nothing is ever that simple, so there might be more to her return than the Machines either re-inserting or reconstructing her.
Trinity Has Powers In The Matrix: Resurrections
Throughout the trailer, Neo displays many of the reality-warping abilities he first displayed in the original trilogy, and the movie looks to be placing a lot of emphasis on Keanu Reeves’ now-bearded Neo getting the hang of defying the restrictions of the Matrix once again. What stands out, though, is the fact that Trinity also shows considerable power to override the programming of the Matrix, and to a noticeably greater degree than she originally did. One scene also shows what appears to be Trinity standing her ground against one of Neo’s telekinetic bursts as an entire SWAT team surrounding them is thrown back.
Another noticeable change is how different Neo and Trinity’s relationship appears in Resurrections. While Trinity was as much of key player in unplugging Neo from the Matrix as his mentor Morpheus in the original trilogy, she seems to be significantly aiding with his re-awakening to an extent she didn’t previously. The motorcycle chase shows her riding on the front of a bike and also taking Neo by the hand as they leap from a building. Additionally, there’s a moment in the trailer with Trinity in which she inexplicably splits into a hologram, with a few of the holographic reflections showing Jessica Henwick’s unidentified character. There are a lot of things to take away from the Resurrections trailer, but one thing that’s unmistakable – something about Trinity has changed.
Theory: Trinity Is The New One, Not Neo
The most important thing to keep in mind about the One is that, whoever they may be at any given time, they are a fluke within the Matrix’s programming, or, as the Architect put it in The Matrix Reloaded, “an anomaly.” Neo was the sixth One in the system, so it stands to reason that the code of the One would return in the Matrix after Neo’s death. It could be that, rather than just going back into Neo upon his re-insertion into the simulation, Trinity might instead have become the seventh One.
As previously stated, Trinity displays a power level that looks like it could be substantially beyond what she previously had and seems to be a major guide to Neo in the trailer. With the memory of Trinity reviving the dead Neo with a kiss imprinted upon audiences’ minds since 1999, Resurrections could be throwing a twist into the equation in that respect. After a gap as long as The Matrix franchise has had from the last movie until now, the ultimate curveball would be to have Neo return with perhaps a greater ability to work against the program than the average unplugged individual, without him actually returning as the One, and the messianic mantle falling to Trinity this time.
There’s still quite a way to go before The Matrix Resurrections lands this holiday season. The trailer shows that it’s changing up the formula and the expectations of the audience in many different ways, from the removal of the well-known green tint whenever characters are inside the Matrix to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II now playing Morpheus. Neo’s also on a noticeably rougher learning curve in waking up from the illusion of the Matrix, but Trinity’s return might be the biggest mystery of all. The how and the why of it are head-scratching enigmas, but Trinity could be returning not just as another human (re)awakening from the simulation, but as the next anomalous individual to become the seventh version of the One.
Key Release Dates
- The Matrix Resurrections (2021)Release date: Dec 22, 2021
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