Director Lana Wachowski has opened up about why she chose to bring back Neo and Trinity for The Matrix Revolutions, with the former being carried away by machines at the end, the trailer for The Matrix 4 released on September 9 showed the pair living in the rebooted Matrix. However, both appear to be suffering from amnesia as neither recognized the other, and Neo appeared to be suffering flashbacks to his previous life.
While it's unclear how the pair have been brought back for the fourth instalment in the Matrix series, speculation has been ongoing since the film's announcement as to how the pair would return. Some fans have theorized that the machines carrying Neo away plugged him back into the Matrix to save his life, while others believe that they have taken over host bodies akin to what the Agents did throughout the original trilogy. However they have been resurrected, their return has been well-received by fans with many excited to see the film has in store for the pair.
Speaking as part of a on screenwriting at the International Literature Festival Berlin, Wachowski opened up about her decision to bring back Neo and Trinity for the sequel. The director stated that she was inspired after she had just lost both of her parents and a close friend. She explained: "I was crying and I couldn't sleep, and my brain exploded this whole story," adding that, while she couldn't seek comfort from her parents, "suddenly I had Neo and Trinity … It was immediately comforting to have these two characters alive again." Read Wachowski's full statement below:
"My dad died, then this friend died, then my mom died. I didn't really know how to process that kind of grief. I hadn't experienced it that closely … You know their lives are going to end and yet it was still really hard. My brain has always reached into my imagination and one night, I was crying and I couldn't sleep, and my brain exploded this whole story. And I couldn't have my mom and dad, yet suddenly I had Neo and Trinity, arguably the two most important characters in my life. It was immediately comforting to have these two characters alive again, and it's super simple. You can look at it and say: 'ok, these two people die and ok, bring these two people back to life and oh, doesn't that feel good.' Yeah, it did! It's simple, and this is what art does and that's what stories do, they comfort us."
Wachowski's sister Lilly, who worked alongside Lana on the original Matrix trilogy, has previously opened up about her parents' deaths and how she wished to move forward leading her to not return for The Matrix 4. Lilly Wachowski's decision not return is more than understandable, but so is Lana's. Everyone grieves in their own ways, and it's good to hear that Lana Wachowski was able to take hers and spin it into something positive, using the concept for The Matrix 4 to help process her grief and taking comfort from the return of two characters she clearly loves.
Moreover, Wachowski's statement certainly adds to depth of meaning behind the film's title. The titular Resurrections can be read as relating to both the series being brought back and the characters. If anything, it actually makes a great deal of sense for Neo, continuing the Christ metaphor that the ending of The Matrix Revolutions was steeped in. However, with the director's comments it seems that in some way it also relates to her parents which adds an even greater level of emotional depth.
Hopefully in bringing Neo and Trinity back for The Matrix Resurrections, Wachowski is able to find a measure of closure. What exactly is in-store for the characters is another matter entirely, but fans are undoubtedly excited to see their favorite characters return. Fortunately they won't have long to wait as the film releases on December 22.
