The Matrix Resurrections has revealed its first trailer, and if there's one major takeaway, it's that the fourth installment in the series seems to be riffing a lot on the original.
Released today, the new trailer introduces us to an older, seemingly amnesia-stricken Neo (Keanu Reeves), living on a diet of bad dreams and blue pills. He meets Carrie-Anne Moss' Trinity, who half-recognises him, as well as what seems to be a younger version of Morpheus, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. And, of course, there's a whole heap of bullets and balletic martial arts. Check out the trailer below:
What's notable about the trailer is how many references – big and small – there are to the first Matrix movie in particular. Aside from the red pill-blue pill motif, we see white rabbit tattoos, liquid mirrors, black cats, stopping bullets in place, and what seems to be a fight between Reeves and Abdul-Mateen that takes place in the sparring program where Neo and Morpheus originally trained. Even the way Abdul-Mateen's character casually fires two submachine guns in separate directions harks back to Neo doing the same in the original Lobby Fight scene.
It's perhaps no surprise that, after this long away, the latest Matrix would invoke the memory of the first. Two decades later, the 1999 original is heralded as a classic but its sequels, Reloaded and Revolutions, are looked back on less fondly overall. While this could simply be a tactic for the film's first trailer, invoking nostalgia alongside excitement, it's possible Resurrections is taking something of a Force Awakens approach, purposely riffing on the original film's events – the title of this movie alone makes that feel fairly possible.
We'll find out for sure where the movie hits theaters on December 22. For now, we've pieced together everything we've learned from the Matrix Resurrections teaser website. Someone's even reverse engineered the site to let you choose what teaser you watch.
Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].