Matrix 4 Plot Prediction

Apologies for the long post, but I wanted to do this idea justice and I really couldn’t shorten it any more.
Spoilers for the original Matrix trilogy
Ok so… many people have expressly stated how they don’t want this movie to be a retelling of the first Matrix,
because - at best - it would feel tired and redundant and not worth the reveal of the same old Neo still being
alive, and - at worst - it might make the entire franchise feel outdated for 2021 when people have willingly
chosen to live on the internet despite how much it warps your perspective and is proven to exacerbate mental
illness.
But I see one potential scenario for how Lana Wachowski could pull this off in an immensely satisfying way, but
it requires not so much dissecting the trailers - which many people have done well, despite the risk of studio
misdirection - and instead trying to think about the motivations of the people in this world where we last saw
them. Quick disclaimer: I have not played the matrix online and the specifics of this story idea would require
making that game not cannon. That said, I’m sure there’s a way this could be done that keeps the events of
that game cannon.
So Neo succeeds in defeating agent Smith, and “peace” is being upheld. However, there were no terms
discussed in this treaty. We have no idea what kind of “peace” Zion can expect. All we know is that a) humans
will not longer be hunted and killed outside the Matrix for simply living in Zion and b) that those inside the
Matrix will be given a choice on whether they wish to stay or go. And even if we assume that the machines
want to make good on their promise, there must be conditions to this peace. Especially when the machines
have the means to easily wipe out the remainder of humanity.
So what are those conditions? Well, what the hell are the humans apt to do? Morpheus - who was thoroughly
unconvinced about Neo’s encounter with the Architect - watched the machines stop in their tracks and then fly
away. To his knowledge, Neo was the One after all, and he did - in actuality - save humanity from extinction.
Wish Morpheus’ zealotry, we can expect that he would wish to honor Neo until the end of his days. The only
person alive still close to him is Niobe, and - without her - all he has left is his part in the story of the One. The
One who vanquished the enemy. Morpheus would likely continue guiding the people who worshiped Neo. This
would become - if it already hadn’t - the dominant religious movement in Zion. And by the time that this new
movie drops, I wouldn’t be surprised if the political landscape of Zion practically became a theocracy in the
image of Neo’s legacy - as told by Morpheus.
But were the machines really defeated? I mean, no. They made peace in good faith to their lackey who refused
to do what he was told, and - what’s worse - he was positioned to solve their problem with Agent Smith all
because the Oracle - their own program - played 5D chess against them. No doubt the machines aren’t stoked
on this situation. Especially because humans likely will not - as a whole - honor the peace.
Despite the best efforts of the Church of Neo, there will be humans who see that Neo won and will say, “Why
do need to stay in Zion then? Why are the machines even still around if Neo defeated them?” These human
supremacists would likely stop at nothing to absolutely obliterate the machines. They might outright reject Neo
as the savior, or they might be religious extremists - finishing the job that Neo started. But the machines might
anticipate something like this. So their terms for peace would likely include some precautionary measures.
I would expect that the machines would say, 1. No more jacking into the Matrix unless you’re in one of our
pods 2. No violent expansion of Zion 3. No attacking machines in the real world
In essence, the “peace” would still be a military occupation and tensions would rise again. But the machines
would be doing what they see to be the most logical response to the human nuisance. But all the while, more
and more people will flooding into Zion from the Matrix only to find a world of religious zealotry - being told they
need to thank a person they never met or ever saw for their “freedom” to be packed like sardines underground.
Also, lest we forget, the stress of limited resources - air, water, food - will make people get more and more
angry at their situation and, in turn, angry at each other. Some might want to go back, like Cypher, and those
who don’t want to go back would likely resent those that do even more. How the hell do you lead people -
using religious fervor - who are hell bent on resenting each other? All while the climate of your only home
begins to push closer and closer to extinction…
So how does Neo play into all this? Or Trinity? Or this new young Morpheus?
Well, considering the context of this world - within this scenario that I see as the most logical outcome - I have
to wonder: what role would Neo play to those who still remember him? Whether it’s Michael “Kid” Popper - the
boy obsessed with Neo - or others in Zion, people would wonder “what would Neo do when faced with these
problems?” They’d probably want to find him. But considering the terms of the tenuous peace, it would be
insanely dangerous for everyone in Zion if any one person tried to make contact. And considering Neo was
plugged into the source inside the Machine City, a journey there would likely be suicide. For a human that is.
Quick aside: In the Animatrix, there is a short film titled, Matriculated, in which humans capture a machine and
plug it into a matrix of their own design. They do this to try to teach the machine empathy and compassion. If
you haven’t watched the Animtarix, I highly suggest you do so. But getting back to my idea for the Matrix:
Resurrections, what if those in Zion try to do the same in order to get in contact with Neo.
A small team of people take a machine hostage, and they plug it into their own Matrix and spend years upon
years convincing it that it is a human. And not just any human, but a human that would want to go to the
source. The One.
Imagine, the Matrix: Resurrections begins very similar to the first film. A man - played by Keanu Reeves - feels
stuck in his mundane life believing there is something just beyond the tip of his sensory experience. A crew of
new young faces arrive offering him hope and freedom, along with a hefty burden as the messiah of humanity.
He dives down the rabbit hole only to come out the other side… and follow the exact same path that he walked
before. Back to the source. To plug himself in, and save humanity. But as he continues this journey, he finds
that he still still has this nagging suspicion that something isn’t right. He still feels somewhat trapped. And his
teammates seem to be hiding something. All until he confronts them in some culminating conflict, and he
discovers to his horror: he is a machine being manipulated into believing he’s the One. The Matrix he grew up
in and the real world he escaped into are both just a program and, outside of that, he is an unrecognizable
creature of wires and metal. His true love, Trinity, is just a program made from memory. The team - his
“friends” - are actually sitting jacked into this program in hopes that they could convince him to somehow
reconnect with the source - either by flying to the Machine City or jacking into the real Matrix from a remote
location. They wanted him to do this under the presumption that he was a human and the One, all so that they
could see if Neo is alive and still inside the system. If so, perhaps they could find an answer for their climate
crisis and burgeoning civil war in Zion.
The Matrix has always been a mindfuck about how we can never really escape complex systems of control.
And I feel that this plot could walk the line between rehash of old terrain and an exploration of new territory
quite beautifully. What do you think though? Would you watch this?
TL;DR This new movie is basically the plot of the Animatrix’s Matriculated rewritten around the One. Neo in this
film is a machine being convinced he’s a human and the One by a bunch of people trying to find the real Neo.