The Matrix’s New Movie Can Finally Tell The Obvious Villain Story Resurrections Weirdly Ignored

Confirmation of The Matrix 5 allows the franchise to finally explore the big villain story still begging to be told after The Matrix Resurrections walked a very different path. Since the tale began in 1999, the Wachowskis’ Matrix narrative has consistently pitted humanity against the Machines. Across the first three Matrix movies, Keanu Reeves’ Neo led Zion and its people against the metallic forces that had taken over Earth’s surface centuries before. As Neo’s journey progressed, his main opponent then became Smith – a rogue Program with a major grudge against all things flesh and blood.

Despite the critical and commercial struggles endured by The Matrix Resurrections, Warner Bros. has now confirmed The Matrix 5, with Drew Goddard taking over creative duties from the Wachowskis. Lilly Wachowski had already ducked out before The Matrix 4, which Lana alone worked on. For The Matrix 5, Goddard will serve as writer and director, and Lana will slip into that ever-mysterious role of “executive producer” – a title as malleable and meaningless as the Oracle’s cutlery. While surprising, The Matrix 5‘s confirmation offers another chance to flip the franchise’s typical villain dynamic.

The Matrix 5 Needs A Human Villain (Not Another Machine Or Program)

A Human Villain Would Flip The Matrix’s Usual Formula

The four Matrix movies released thus far have never fully explored the idea of a human villain. Minor antagonists have popped up among Zion’s ranks, certainly, but the main threats – the Machines, Smith, the Analyst, etc. – have always been mechanical or digital in nature, keeping the central theme of man vs. machine alive since 1999. After four movies in that vein, The Matrix 5 presents the ideal opportunity to turn the Wachowskis’ premise on its head and introduce a fully human main villain for the first time.

The motivation this hypothetical villain would have is staring The Matrix 5 in the face: not every human wishes to be free. The red pill and blue pill dilemma sits at the heart of The Matrix‘s philosophy, and asks humans whether they wish to live in reality or be placated by a simulation. After Neo’s truce with the Machines in The Matrix trilogy’s ending, humans who would choose the red pill were freed, but as revealed in The Matrix Resurrections, the resulting exodus meant Machines no longer had enough power to survive, and the war began all over again.

It appears that humanity’s enslavement is an all-or-nothing scenario in The Matrix‘s fictional universe – either everyone is hooked into the simulation or everyone walks free. That presents a problem, since the blue pill humans have no desire to be liberated. Indeed, those taking the blue pill would likely look upon Neo as humanity’s oppressor rather than its savior. The Matrix 5 can tell a fresh and unique story compared to past entries by introducing a blue pill villain who desires to bring all of humanity back into the Matrix.

This would add a new layer of complexity to the Matrix franchise’s ongoing war. Rather than Machines wanting to rule over humans and humans doggedly fighting back, a civil war between red pill supporters and blue pill fans puts a whole new complexion on the Wachowskis’ depiction of good and evil. Such a story would make Neo’s status as a hero more nuanced, can delve further into the original movie’s question of what “reality” truly means, and will also create a main villain more realistic than just another Program that doesn’t like the stench of humans clogging up its USB ports.

The Matrix Resurrections Strangely Ignored The Opportunity For A Human Villain

Meta Wasn’t Better For The Matrix Resurrections

The idea of a human villain is, of course, something that could have been pursued in 2021’s The Matrix Resurrections, especially since the long-awaited fourth movie handled the fallout from Neo’s truce with the Machines at the end of The Matrix Revolutions. Ultimately, however, Smith returned, the Machines reverted to type, and the Architect was replaced by Neil Patrick Harris’ Analyst. The Matrix Resurrections more or less repeated the same beats as the 1999 movie. But that was the point.

Eschewing a traditional sequel, The Matrix Resurrections served as a meta commentary on the movie industry, franchise culture, and the original Matrix movie. Repeating the humans vs. Machines storyline was part of that joke – if a joke it was intended to be. Sadly, that left no room to explore deeper ideas like a human main villain. While firm details on Drew Goddard’s Matrix 5 are scant at present, the announcement reveals that Goddard approached Warner Bros. with a fresh take on the existing Matrix universe. This already sounds like a sequel that will spend less time winking at the audience and indulgently referencing Hollywood.

A Human Villain In The Matrix 5 Would Continue The Franchise’s Social Commentary

Matrix Movies Always Have Something To Say Politically & Philosophically

Every Matrix movie contains metaphors for real life. The original premise can be interpreted as a critique of capitalism, there are religious overtones, a trans reading embedded deeply within, and more philosophical musings than happy hour at the Agora in 400 BC. A human villain would let The Matrix 5 add a modern sharpness to its already keen allegorical edge.

A movement of human blue pills championing humanity’s return to the Matrix is a concept that would echo cultural divides present throughout western society in the 2020s. The rise of right-wing populist leaders, the resulting splurge of disinformation, and shocking cultural events such as the US Capitol attack on Jan 6, 2021, all highlight just how violently partisan human society has become in real life, with both sides seeking freedom but holding very different ideas on what that actually means. The Matrix 5 focusing on a tug-of-war between red pills and blue pills over humanity’s future would hold a mirror to real events in true Matrix tradition.

In doing so, The Matrix 5 would also reclaim the term “red pill” after it was strangely adopted by controversial right-wing figures – something Lilly Wachowski herself has spoken out against. The odd trend of political movements, conspiracy theorists, and online celebrities misunderstanding the Matrix story and adopting “red pill” for their own purposes can be pushed back against if The Matrix 5 deals more directly with the divide between what taking the red pill and taking the blue pill actually stands for in the Wachowskis’ universe.

The Matrix Franchise Has Already Set Up A Major Human Villain

Cypher, The Matrix Online, And Even Resurrections Have Blazed A Trail

Over the past 25 years, the Matrix franchise has dropped a trail of breadcrumbs leading toward a main antagonist that’s entirely flesh and blood. In the first movie, Cypher betrayed Zion because he essentially changed his mind regarding the red pill vs. blue pill dilemma, highlighting the fundamental truth that not all humans think like Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. Applying Cypher’s perspective on a larger scale could become the basis of The Matrix 5‘s story.

The sort-of-not-really canon The Matrix Online already proved such an angle could work. The 2005 video game introduced “Cypherites” – a movement of humans fighting against the liberation of their own kind, and instead seeking solace under Machine enslavement. The Matrix 5 needn’t adapt the game’s story verbatim, but The Matrix Online does at least demonstrate how much scope there is to move away from the current streak of villains being exclusively Programs or Machines.

It may have failed to execute the notion fully, but even the most recent movie made steps toward introducing a human villain. Zion’s replacement civilization in The Matrix Resurrections, Io, briefly introduced Synthients – Machines that had essentially sided with humans and chose to live among them. The debut of Synthients paves the way for The Matrix 5 to further blur the lines between human and Machine, and move away from the existing trope of non-organic big bads. Just as Machines became allies in The Matrix Resurrections, humans could prove to be the real danger of The Matrix 5.