If you could say there's one movie that's had its philosophy dissected and examined the most, there'd be a strong case for it being The Matrix. The film has had dissertations and books written surrounding its themes and ideas beyond being just an action movie.
After Lilly Wachowski herself has confirmed that the film was written as a metaphor for the transgender experience, though, people are curious who understood that.
Which brings us to notorious nice guy and star of The Matrix franchise, Keanu Reeves.
Reeves was asked about the idea of the film being a trans narrative, and he shared his thoughts. While he was never told about that aspect of the film, he was nonetheless supportive.
In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, he said:
"I think The Matrix films are profound, and I think that allegorically, a lot of people in different versions of the film can speak to that."
"And for Lilly to come out and share that with us, I think is cool."
Could you have expected Keanu Reeves to be cooler than he already is?
This particular reading of The Matrix as an allegory for the trans experience has always been popular, with greater credence to this idea in later years after the Wachowski sisters came out as trans.
There were even plans at one point to have the character named Switch be portrayed by two different actors, with a male actor playing the character in the real world, and a female actor in the Matrix itself. The studio eventually cut this decision, but Switch is still given an androgynous appearance to pay homage to the idea.
Reeves was asked if these ideas about gender and identity would come up in the new film.
He responded:
"I don't know. I think it'll be open to interpretation."
Lilly Wachowski has been more vocal about the trans narrative in the Matrix films. In an interview with Netflix, she spoke more on this idea.
She said:
"The Matrix was all about the desire for transformation, but it was all coming from a closeted point of view."
This can be seen with idea of your world being more of a façade than what's real to you, or even in Agent Smith calling Neo "Mr. Anderson." It plays to the concept of deadnaming the main character, especially since he uses a gendered phrase to do it.
Reeves has always been very popular, with recent roles growing his fame. But it's been his attitude outside of films that has earned him adoration from the general public.
We hope he also appreciates a few jokes.
The next film the The Matrix series is currently back to filming in Berlin, with stringent safety precautions in place. The extra steps to ensure the cast and crew's safety delayed the film a year, with a new release date of April 2022.
