‘The Office’ Fans Can Finally Watch Jim’s Hilarious ‘Matrix’ Prank on Dwight That Was Cut From the Finale
Jim Halpert’s most epic prank on Dwight Schrute never aired on The Office, but fans could watch it unfold in a table read video for the episode. Now fans can finally see how the complicated trick in the series finale would have played out.
Jim played a final prank on Dwight that topped all others
During the nine seasons of The Office, Jim played many pranks on Dwight — but the one written for the series finale would have topped them all.
During the Sept. 8 episode of An Oral History of The Office podcast, host Brian Baumgartner spoke with editor Dave Rogers about how Jim’s elaborate The Matrix prank was cut from the show’s final episode.
“We can talk about the prank that hasn’t made it to the big screen yet that I think we’re saving for the 10 year reunion. The Matrix, do you remember that?,” Rogers said.
“That’s the finale script, they prank Dwight to make him think he’s in the Matrix,” Rogers shared. “Remember Hank [the security guard] is down as Dorpheus, he’s Morpheus’ brother. And they have a cat, there’s a cat that walks by … and the cat walks by again as Dwight is in Michael’s office. And Jenna goes, ‘It took six months to train the cat.’”
“And then we have the security guard walk by … he was the big guy, but he had a twin brother and we used him also as a glitch,” Rogers added. “And then he’s going to take the red pill or the blue pill?”
Ultimately, the prank had to be cut because it was so long.
Fans can finally watch Jim’s prank
While The Office table read gave fans a good idea of what the prank would have been like, Peacock released the cold open hijinks so you can actually see how The Matrix prank on Dwight worked.
The never-before-seen footage is indeed elaborate, as Dwight witnesses a glitch with the trained cat and the warehouse worker and his twin. His computer displays a message that clues him in that something is off. He then receives a package with a ringing phone and the voice on the other end instructs him to get past two men at reception so he can meet up with security guard Hank, posing as Dorpheus, in the warehouse.
When presented with the blue and red pills, Dwight has a decision to make and, surprisingly, says he’ll take the pill that will keep him in the matrix because he likes his life the way it is.
“The timing is terrible right now,” Dwight explains. “They just promoted me to manager, plus I own this building, I run a very substantial farm, and I’m getting married soon to a woman I love. Maybe that love is just zeros and ones, but I don’t want to lose it.”
“No one hates machines more than me,” he adds. “But I’m happy, I’m truly happy.”
