32 ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ Easter Eggs and References You Might Have Missed (Plus Those End Credits)

Image via Warner Bros.

The opening of Resurrections takes place in a “modal,” which loops the first movie’s opening sequence. Small details, like the Heart ‘O the City Hotel setting, repeat themselves.

The police who try to arrest Trinity approach the modal’s “Trinity” in similar fashion; she also disarms them and walks on the walls in almost exactly the same manner.

The hacker who breaks into Neo’s modal is Bugs, a blue-haired, non-binary character played by up-and-coming actress Jessica Henwick. She tells Morpheus that she is “Bugs, as in Bunny,” which also foreshadows the rabbit tattoo she has on her shoulder. More on that later.

In a not-so-subliminal way, Resurrections is a reclaiming of the “red pill” culture of the far right, who co-opted the iconography of the first film as a means of pushing men’s rights and anti-feminism. It is no coincidence that the character leading the efforts to rescue Neo is a non-binary individual, nor is it a coincidence that the leaders of human/synthient outpost IO are two women who are implied to be romantically involved. 

Co-writer and director Lana Wachowski is a transwoman who came out and transitioned shortly after the success of the original trilogy. In hindsight, the entire franchise can be interpreted as an allegory for a trans individual’s struggle to assert themselves and find acceptance.

If you look closely at the movie theater banner during the opening chase sequence, the movie currently playing is Root of all Evil, starring Lito Rodriguez. Lito is a main character in Sense8, created and directed by Lana Wachowski along with her sister, Lilly Wachowski.

Bugs and Morpheus duck into a key shop, whose walls are covered with all sorts of metal keys. It’s a subliminal reference to The Keymaker in Matrix Reloaded, who Neo required to unlock The Source.

The sleuths on the /r/Matrix subreddit speculate that director Lana Wachowski made a cameo on Neo’s computer in the above scene. 

Sati, who works at the nearby noodle shop, is reading Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The first Matrix movie was loaded with references to the book, and it implies that Neo, like Alice, is stuck in a dream world.

The restaurant is a callback to the noodle shop that Neo references in the first film when he’s chatting with Trinity on the way to see the Oracle.

There’s a bunch of Matrix memorabilia on Neo’s desk and shelves, including this figurine of Trinity diving out the window from Reloaded. There’s also a giant hand giving the middle finger, which is a callback to the interrogation scene from the first movie, when Neo flips off Agent Smith.

We see that The Matrix won Game of the Year at the Game Awards in 1999. In real life, the awards show and ceremony didn’t debut until 2014.

The bust in Smith’s office is a recreation of the slo-mo fight scene in Matrix Revolutions, when Neo punches Smith squarely in the face.

At the end of Revolutions, the machines promise freedom to any human who desires it. We learn, however, that not everyone wants to be freed; many would rather stay wired in. The filmmakers highlight this point during the elevator scene, where everyone, except for Neo, is hunched over a tablet or phone rather than interacting with one another.

Christina Ricci makes a cameo as Gwyn de Vere, a marketing executive who focuses the development of The Matrix 4 around what audiences identify as the “brand.” Ricci also worked with the Wachowskis on Speed Racer in 2008. 

Neo eats a medium-rare steak during the “White Rabbit” montage sequence. It’s a callback to the restaurant scene in the original film, when Cypher met with the Agents to discuss the terms of betraying Morpheus and Zion.

Trinity’s husband Chad is played by Chad Stahelski, who directed John Wick and doubled for Keanu Reeves in the original Matrix trilogy. He is thus, on a meta, figurative level, a “copy” of Neo, instead of the real thing.

The new Matrix has a blue tint to it, in the same manner that the Matrix in the original trilogy had a green tint. The Analyst (Neil Patrick Harris), who designed the new Matrix, dresses entirely in blue (including blue-rimmed glasses) during his therapy/control session with Neo.

The analyst’s cat, named Deja Vu, is a callback to the black cat from the original film, which Neo sees twice. Trinity then explains to Neo that deja vu is a glitch in the Matrix, that happens when the Machines change something.

The game company’s name is Deus Machina. In literature, a deus ex machina occurs when an unwinnable or difficult plot scenario is resolved through unbelievable means, sometimes by a literal god descending from the skies. Done well, it’s a twist or surprise for the audience. Done badly, and it gives the impression that the author lacks the creativity to resolve the plot through ordinary means.

When Morpheus starts a gunfight in Neo’s office, the emergency fire sprinklers turn on. This is a callback to the lobby fight in the first film, when the emergency sprinklers turn on after Trinity and Neo blow up the elevator.

An establishing shot in the original film shows window washers outside Neo’s building when his boss is disciplining him for being late. In the new movie, Bugs recounts that she was washing windows when she first saw Neo step off the roof.

Bugs is the figurative white rabbit that Neo must follow, and she has a tattoo of a literal rabbit on her left shoulder. In the original film, a girl with a similar tattoo on her shoulder leads Neo to an industrial club, where he meets Trinity for the first time.

Neo’s residual self image—his perception of himself as well as Trinity—differs from how others see Neo and Trinity. If you look at the mirrors in the background of the film, you will occasionally see a different man or woman reflected back.

The scene where multiple train passengers go berserk and try to kill Neo is highly reminiscent of the critically acclaimed South Korean horror film Train to Busan, currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Ellster, a member of Bug’s crew, identifies herself as Commander Roland’s granddaughter. Roland fought alongside Neo 60 years prior; he appeared in both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions as the captain of the Mjolnir, and he later led Zion’s defense against the machines.

Niobe, played by Jada Pinkett Smith, appeared in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions as Niobe, and she played a pivotal role during the former movie’s climactic highway chase sequence. Smith reprises her role in Resurrections; fifty years after the events of Revolutions, she is a leader of IO, a hybrid human/synthient civilization.

The Merovingian made his debut in Reloaded as an exiled program. Time has not been kind to him in the subsequent 50 years. He now looks dirty and disheveled, though he still has his penchant for swearing a blue streak in French.

The ‘Neo vs. Smith’ fight in the dusty, dirty bathroom recalls both the ‘Smith vs. Morpheus’ fight in the abandoned building, as well as the ‘Smith vs. Neo’ fight in the subway from the original film.

Sati, who debuted in Revolutions as an exile program protected by The Oracle, appears in Resurrections as an adult played by Priyanka Chopra. She fulfills the Oracle’s prophecy regarding her importance by masterminding the rescue of Trinity from the Machines.

Mayor of San Francisco London Breed helps get people to safety during the film’s climactic sequence. Breed helped secure permits for the film’s important setpieces, and her cameo was Wachowski’s way of saying thank you.

There’s an iconic shot of ammo shells raining from a helicopter in the first film. Wachowski repeats this shot in Resurrections when the Agents target Trinity and Neo on a rooftop.

The final shot of The Matrix shows Neo taking flight for the first time. Resurrections reimagines this shot with Trinity alongside Neo, showing how both of them are necessary to overcome the Machines; it is “The Two” rather than “The One.”

If you wait until after the credits, you see the game developers at Deus Machina spitballing about the death of traditional media, and one of them brings up a idea for a memetastic series of videos: The Catrix. 

End credit scenes are usually employed to tease an upcoming sequel. Based on this scene, we might expect for Resurrections to be Lana Wachowski’s final statement on her and her sister’s franchise.