Saying the quiet part out loud. Somehow this has always felt like the bleeding heart of The Matrix movies. Beneath the simulation theory, cool bullet dodging, and even cooler soundtracks, the films are about pointing out the facades and fakes that surround us. Evil forces are trying to calm everyone down and that will only stop if you talk about it. That may be why so many people expressed relief when Lilly Wachowski, who wrote and directed the original Matrix trilogy with her sister Lana, seemingly confirmed that the series is in some ways a… transgender story.
Fans had been speculating about it for years, especially after the Wachowskis came out as transgender, but then one of them finally spoke up.
Typical, saying the quiet part out loud means accidentally revealing a secret motive. In case of The Matrix, the (non) hidden agenda is precisely about the importance of individualism. The red or blue pill of all this is whether you choose to accept reality. This is why, as my colleague Jason Kehe noted a few years ago, Matrix resurrections a mirror for the self-loathing and nostalgia that are ingrained in its own audience. Love The Matrix is to love something that is completely comfortable while shouting out its own intentions and imperfections.
That’s why on this strange day in April I’m wondering: Why is Drew Goddard? making the next one Matrix movie? No offense to Goddard, but the man is nothing if not serious. So painful. He made The Martian better, although much less bitter, than the book. Alias, Cloverfield, Lost, Cabin in the Woods. He’s mastered the mystery box thing. However, his projects are rarely what you would call sharp. They are crowd pleasers. Matrix movies never felt like they were made to please anyone. That’s what made them so much fun.
According to Jesse Ehrman, president of Warner Bros. Motion Pictures, Goddard got the gig because he came to the studio with “a new idea that we all believe would be an incredible way to continue the Matrix world.” I should also note that Lana is executive producing, so it’s not that Wachowski isn’t involved in this, but it’s unclear what anyone’s motive is for continuing a franchise that could have been left alone.
Normally the answer to this question would be ‘money’, but this is the latter Matrix—2021 Resurrections– didn’t make much of it, relatively speaking. Maybe that’s what Goddard’s rail yard is trying to solve. Since the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery, the company focuses on surefire winners and shipping movies like Batgirl to the garbage can. Maybe hand Goddard the keys to the Nebuchadnezzar offers the opportunity to Matrix with a bit more mass appeal. If you say the quiet part out loud, it might be a chance to make a less weird, affordable hit.
Sigh.
Admittedly, I’m used to shuddering at the idea of one Matrix restart even if the result is surprisingly good. There is a chance The Matrix5 (or The Matrix rebranding, etc.) will be fantastic, even if it doesn’t come straight from the minds of the Wachowskis. But after watching The Volksjoker This week it was hard not to think about what happens when someone completely reimagines worlds everyone thought they knew. Director-star Vera Drew’s parody is unlike any previous Batman film. The Joker serves as the hero and Bruce Wayne is a media mogul. There is no quiet part; it’s just loud. A template for the Matrices come.