Mystery is a key portion of what makes The Matrix film series work as a mind-bending action blowout. Returning to that franchise for the first time in almost 20 years, co-writer/director Lana Wachowski still has that understanding in her work, thanks to the fact that aside from Keanu Reeves’ Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss’ Trinity, we don’t know that much about the new cast involved. That’s about to change, as this winter’s The Matrix Resurrections may have confirmed three mysterious character identities, as well as given a huge hint to another actor’s potential role, and this could be massive.
Priyanka Chopra Is, In Fact, Playing Sati
The first huge confirmation we’ve gotten, thanks to Warner Bros. Korea’s Instagram marketing, is that Priyanka Chopra is in fact playing Sati. Why this is so important will be discussed in a moment, but let’s first look at what confirmed this casting. If you take a look at that Instagram post, it shows off a recent poster that depicted Ms. Chopra’s character. Translating the caption from Korean to English, here’s what this message roughly says:
#Satiㅣ#Priyanka Chopra ⠀ "Announcing the root of the action!" #Matrix_Resurrection colorful character posters released💥 #Matrix #Lana Wachowski #IMAX release in December
A crucial character in the later installments of the Matrix trilogy, we last saw Sati as a young girl with promising power, resurrected after Neo’s final fight with Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). The path for her character is still unknown, with Enter The Matrix’s big message from The Oracle (Mary Alice) stating that she will be very important to the future of machines and humanity. Scratching one question off of The Matrix 4 wish list, we can now begin to look at the other characters being teased in a similar fashion.
Jessica Henwick’s Character Is Named Bugs
Looking further down the line of the posters that also gave us our best look at the new Morpheus, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, The Matrix Resurrections’ marketing campaign has also confirmed another figure that we've known about for roughly several months. Jessica Henwick’s mysterious character is part of this same marketing run, and quite fittingly, she’s named Bugs, which is a sort of double-edged name in this world of simulated freedom fighting. The most obvious facet is that, much like any digital system has bugs that fundamentally alter things, Henwick’s character is doing just that by aiding Neo.
It wouldn’t be The Matrix if there wasn’t another level of meaning though, and “Bugs” is also a fitting name for this new figure because of an easter egg she possesses from the original films. Just as Thomas Anderson followed the white rabbit to become Neo, his newly reincarnated self will have to repeat that history, thanks to Bugs having that exact tattoo on her shoulder. As it turns out, Warner Bros.' brand synergy works outside of Space Jam legacy-quels and fighting games; and this new character seems to be on the same level of importance as Morpheus, seeing as we've known about the two of them for approximately the same amount of time.
Meet Neil Patrick Harris, A.K.A. Analyst
Here’s where things get a little murky, but still very much intriguing. Throughout the teases to Neil Patrick Harris’ piece to the Matrix puzzle, we’ve seen him operate as a therapist to Thomas Anderson/Neo in this new world. So the name “Analyst” shouldn’t come as a surprise, as it fits his job description to a tee. Thinking a little harder on that title, and the past history of The Matrix Resurrections’ predecessors, another theory starts to arise. What if all of these intimate scenes between “The Analyst” and Thomas reveal that this supposed therapist is really “The Architect 2.0”?
Introduced in The Matrix Reloaded, The Architect (Helmut Bakaitis) met Neo at a crucial phase in his journey as The One, and laid out the concept of The Matrix and his involvement in its inner workings. After which, The Architect gave Neo a choice: wipe the slate clean for a new round or potentially crash the entire Matrix and exterminate humanity. Maybe in his new form, which also seems to involve constantly sitting and moderating/monitoring Neo’s choices, The Analyst is the key to keeping both sides of the fence in line?
There’s A Matrix Character Poster That’s Conspicuously Missing
All of the information that’s come from this new source of clues to The Matrix Resurrections has highlighted an interesting absence in the lineup. Most of this was already shared throughout international markets, as we’ve seen in the domestic campaign for the next adventure. Comparing the two sources however, one character is conspicuously missing from these revelations: the mysterious presence played by Jonathan Groff. Taking a look at the photo evidence below, there’s an obvious theory as to why he’s MIA:
What kind of caption or character name to you use to accompany that poster that would even begin to hide the intent of Mr. Groff’s would-be antagonist? Though come to think of it, even with this poster giving off a serious vibe that we saw with Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith teaser poster for The Matrix Reloaded, there’s still room for argument. Seeing as this fresh man of mystery also gets to reenact a key moment in Neo’s Matrix journey, the path isn’t exactly clear.
Why These Characters Could Be Massive Pieces In The Matrix Resurrections
While previous announcements have leaned heavily on 1999’s The Matrix as the key to this new saga, the sequels are clearly in play thanks to Sari’s presence. Also, seeing figures like Morpheus and The Merovingian either totally reskinned or altered tremendously means that we’re not just going back to relive that first movie. They weren’t kidding when they said this isn’t merely a sequel, as The Matrix Resurrections seems to be an upgraded version of the original.
The Matrix is literally rebooted, with figures, events and even footage from the first installment playing a key part in whatever this new puzzle happens to spell out. Whatever happens next is taking into account the entire trilogy that came before it, which speaks to the changes that have been made. And for once, Neo might not be the key to the future, as Sati’s return and The Oracle’s cryptic prophecy of her importance might be fulfilled, should those potential sequels happen.
We’ve still got some time before The Matrix Resurrections hits theaters and HBO Max on December 22nd. That’s a lot of space to be filled with ads from all over the world, slowly revealing secrets in bite sized pieces that string together to make... something. What that is probably won’t be the entire truth, as much like a good Christmas gift, you should only give enough hints to get everyone sitting around the tree.
