Lana Wachowski, director of The Matrix Resurrections, is clearing up some details surrounding the release of her upcoming film.
The original Matrix films, which were directed by Wachowski in partnership with her sister, Lilly Wachowski, were released more than 20 years ago. The trilogy created a generation of die-hard sci-fi fanatics, thanks to their reality-bending plot lines, complex and intriguing characters, and thrilling action sequences. The final installment in the late 90s and early 2000s trilogy ended with a massive battle between machines and humans, over the course of which several favorite characters lost their lives.
This month’s trailer for the two-decades-in-the-making Matrix Resurrections saw the return of several of these characters, a detail that had some fans raising their eyebrows. No one is disappointed to see Neo and Trinity return, of course, but many wondered how the film’s director would explain the return of the franchise’s central couple. The teaser, which drops minute hints throughout, has since been thoroughly dissected and patiently examined by fans hoping to soak up every possible detail.
Wachowski, during a screenwriting panel at the International Literature Festival in Berlin, addressed some lingering questions about her upcoming film. According to her interview, (H/T, Game Rant), grief played a big role in the revival of these on-screen favorites.
It turns out, the often-reclusive director has suffered a lot of loss over the last several years. Following the deaths of both her parents, along with one of her close friends, Wachowski said she was struggling to find a way to process her grief. Despite her awareness that death is an inevitable part of life, Wachowski said she grappled with the immense loss of her family members and close friend.
“You know their lives are going to end and yet it was still really hard,” she said at the screenwriting panel. “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.” Wachowski went on to say that “I couldn’t have my mom and dad, yet suddenly I had Neo and Trinity, arguably the two most important characters in my life.”
This sudden inspiration was “immediately comforting,” according to Wachowski. Having Neo and Trinity back in her world meant a lot to her, and once she started devising a story around their return, it all started to click.
“It’s super simple,” she said. “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.”
For fans of the popular science-fiction franchise, Neo and Trinity’s return will certainly mean a lot. These characters, who mean so much to Wachowski, are a foundational part of many of her fans. Hopefully, the catharsis that she felt in resurrecting them for the big screen will translate to the big screen when The Matrix Resurrections open in theaters this December.