The Matrix Resurrections Credits Scene Explained: Movies Are Dead
"The Matrix Resurrections" is in theaters (and on HBO Max) right now, so feel free to jack back in at your earliest convenience. Since this is a sequel in a massive blockbuster franchise, you're probably wondering if there's a credits scene to help set up the future of "The Matrix." Well, buckle up, folks, because "The Matrix Resurrections" has a credits scene, and it features quite a gamechanger for "The Matrix" franchise. You've never seen anything like this before.
"Let's face reality, people."
"The Matrix Resurrections" post-credits scene brings us back into the offices of Deus Machina, the video game studio where Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) produced "The Matrix" video games. We're back in one of the many meetings Anderson had to endure with the douchebag game developers tasked with creating a sequel to "The Matrix" video game franchise. They have some very insightful things to say.
In a series of quick cuts, one of the developers rattles off a series of observations that fit right into the meta commentary of "The Matrix Resurrections" on sequels, reboots, etc. The goatee-sporting character says, "Let's face reality, people. Movies are dead. Games are dead. Narrative? Dead." Another bespectacled developer gets more technical and says, "Media is nothing but neuro-trigger response and viral conditioning." It all echoes the brain-draining conversations these developers had while trying to spark an idea for "The Matrix 4" video game that they're being forced to come up with.
But then one of the female developers sounds interested in what another has to say. She asks, "What are you two talking about?" The answer ... will astound you.
Enter The Catrix
Cat videos. The answer is cat videos. The developer who proclaimed the death of film, games, and narrative explains, "What we need is a series of videos that we call... The Catrix." Whoa.
Obviously, this continues the meta commentary and mockery on show business as a whole. Even though this is about making a new "Matrix" video game, this kind of criticism works across the board for all kinds of media, whether it's movies, TV, music, or books. There are always meetings just like this that spawn some of the worst ideas you've ever heard. I wouldn't be surprised if there was once a pitch for some kind of viral marketing attempt to recreate scenes from "The Matrix" with cats. But if we're being honest, I think everyone would love to see adorable felines in leather and latex outfits and little kitty sunglasses. Maybe we could have a bunch of cats with sunglasses having their own "Burly Brawl" in the middle of a tiny playground. This could be the future of "The Matrix" franchise and all blockbuster franchises.
In all seriousness, as mildly entertaining as this satirical but completely realistic scene is, I must say that the on-the-nose commentary on sequel and reboot culture felt too easy coming from a gifted and innovative filmmaker like Lana Wachowski. Though there are entertaining self-referential pieces of dialogue and plot points that pointedly call out common tropes in sequels and reboots, it didn't feel cleverly subversive enough to be insightful or significant. Though I love the concept of the film's new villain, The Analyst (Neil Patrick Harris), using the manipulation of our emotions and longing for nostalgia and love to power the Matrix, I don't think the plot itself does anything innovative with the concept. But maybe that's just me.
If anything, Lana Wachowski deserves credit for not falling into the blockbuster machine and using this movie to kick off an entire new trilogy. Instead, Wachowski basically uses it to shut down the Matrix once and for all. In this day and age, that's fairly bold, and it just might make the mere existence of "The Matrix Resurrections" worth it.