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Keanu Reeves’ movie career may have hit a speed bump in the mid-1990s. But he didn’t have too long to wait until the Wachowskis’ 1999 sci-fi action thriller The Matrix changed movies forever. Its themes — which meld religion and philosophy with kung fu and neo-noir — had a profound influence on fans. Now one star of The Matrix speaks out about how its message has been twisted.

Laurence Fishburne, Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, and Carrie-Anne Moss
Laurence Fishburne, Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, and Carrie-Anne Moss | J. Vespa/WireImage

‘The Matrix’ co-director Lilly Wachowski confirmed 1 fan theory

The Matrix did a lot more than inspire two sequels and a multimedia franchise. The movie introduced mainstream audiences to philosophical ideas in an accessible way. Over the years, fans have come up with many interpretations of what the movie really means. And co-writer/co-director Lilly Wachowski recently confirmed its connection to the trans community.

But as progressive as The Matrix is according to its creators, the movie has also been applied in other ways. Take the scene in which Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) asks Neo (Reeves) to choose between red and blue pills. “Take the red pill” has become a right-wing mantra, even leading Lilly Wachowski herself to sound off on Twitter in May 2020.

This actor is ‘befuddled’ by how some groups are co-opting the films

Now, in an interview with The Daily Beast, actor Hugo Weaving echoes Wachowski’s dismay about how the movie is misunderstood. The actor played Agent Smith in The Matrix trilogy and later worked with the Wachowskis on V for Vendetta and Cloud Atlas.  

I am befuddled by it. It just goes to show how people don’t read below surfaces. They don’t read between the lines. They will take something that they think is cool and they will repurpose it to fit themselves when the original intention or meaning of that thing was quite the opposite. …

That’s a problem with popular culture: these films are profoundly thought through, but it’s too easy to look cool, have a cool haircut, and have a gun, and you think that’s all you need to do in life. But you haven’t thought about what that gun is for, and what that haircut is for, and what those black clothes are meant to be. What are you trying to do all this for? Is it all narcissism and ego? Or is it about community and thinking about what’s right for other people?

Weaving’s thoughtful response extends to the Guy Fawkes mask from V for Vendetta too. The actor explains how he believes fans of both that movie and The Matrix have misinterpreted those films for their own reasons. Whether fans agree with him, the actor demonstrates a clear passion for both those projects.

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Speaking of The Matrix franchise, fans will get the opportunity to plug back into that world on April 1, 2022. On that day, The Matrix 4 will be released in theaters. Reeves and co-star Carrie-Anne Moss join a cast of new additions in director Lana Wachowski’s upcoming film.

But The Matrix 4 will not be a full reunion. Lilly Wachowski is not returning behind the camera. And neither Weaving nor Fishburne will appear in the new movie. Only two of the four main actors are back. But perhaps the fourth film can recapture what made The Matrix so impactful on audiences.

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