Small Details You Missed In The Matrix: Resurrections Trailer

The first full trailer for "The Matrix: Resurrections" — one of the most highly anticipated sequels in recent memory — has finally arrived, and fans are going absolutely wild over all of the tiny details packed into this brand new footage.

After the first film by the Wachowskis, "The Matrix," hit theaters in 1999, the sci-fi film led by Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Anne Moss became an instant sensation, spawning a franchise that included video games, anime prequels, and two sequels. Though the 2003 sequels "The Matrix: Reloaded" and "The Matrix: Revolutions" didn't fare quite as well with fans and critics, moviegoers who loved the world of "The Matrix" — a world in which humans unwittingly inhabit a virtual reality until they "free" themselves from the simulation — still wanted more.

Now, nearly two decades later, Reeves, Moss, and fellow original trilogy alum Jada Pinkett-Smith are reprising their original roles as Neo, Trinity, and Niobe, respectively, alongside newcomers to the franchise like Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christina Ricci, and other famous faces. With original creator Lana Wachowski at the helm, fans will likely be able to expect plenty of Easter eggs and references to the original movies scattered throughout this new installment, and that begins with this new trailer. Here are some small details you probably missed in the first full trailer for "The Matrix: Resurrections."

The trailer kicks off with Neo talking to a mysterious therapist (Neil Patrick Harris), telling him about the bizarre dreams he's currentlyhaving. Although only we get a brief blink-and-you'll-miss-it look at those prophetic visions, it's definitely interesting that Harris' costume has a blue theme. Yes, we're talking about those big blue glasses. They seem to be a nod to the blue pills which keep Neo subdued in the Matrix, and it's possible the machines are using the therapist as a new way of convincing the hero that everything is fine — taking a multi-pronged approach to stop "the one." However, Neil Patrick Harris previously told The Jess Cagle Show that he has a "small part" in this sequel, so don't expect him to show up all the way through.

The therapist's blue glasses aren't the only intriguing eyewear in the film, as Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's circular glasses are also extremely similar to the ones Morpheus (Fishburne) wears in the original trilogy. (A previous report suggested Laurence Fishburne isn't coming back to play Morpheus because Warner Bros. wanted to use a younger version of the character. If that's true, that's probably the reason behind Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's casting.) Most of the scenes we see Abdul-Mateen II show up in are very reminiscent of the things Morpheus gets up to in the classic films. The trailer clearly riffs on the iconic dojo fight when a red-robed Abdul-Mateen II fights Neo in an idyllic location — before Reeves' hero lets out a devastating energy blast, of course.

Just about forty five seconds into the trailer, you can see a business sign to the right as Neo walks down a city street. The sign reads "Corky's Massage," which to most people probably seems meaningless. For this detail, Wachowski isn't actually calling back to anything from previous "Matrix" films. Instead, this is a reference to a past film that the Wachowskis worked on all the way back in 1996, even before "The Matrix."

Written and directed by the Wachowski siblings, 1996's "Bound" was actually their feature-length directorial debut, so the movie holds a lot of significance for them. In "Bound," the protagonist is an ex-criminal named Corky, who is played by Gina Gershon. The movie is a neo-noir crime drama in which Corky helps a woman named Violet, played by Jennifer Tilly, get away from her violent, mafia-associated boyfriend Caesar, played by Joe Pantoliano, all the while falling in love with the woman herself.

The Corky's Massage sign is only a small detail in the new trailer, something very few people might notice, but it's a great little callback for both the director Wachowski and longtime fans of her and her sister's work.

While the trailer is full of callbacks to former "Matrix" films, one of the biggest and most famous references to the start of the trilogy is the appearance of a rabbit tattoo. In the original "Matrix," Neo was told to "follow the white rabbit" when his computer screen took on a mind of its own and started sending him messages. When Dujour and Choi go to Neo's apartment to pick up some illegal software he built for them, the couple asks him to come out with them to a club. After turning down the offer, Neo reconsiders when he sees a white rabbit tattoo on Dujour's left shoulder blade. This was all Trinity's doing, who used the lure of the tattoo to get Neo to the club so they could have their first meeting.

It looks like the rabbit tattoo will have the same kind of purpose in "Resurrections." Jessica Henwick's character has a tattoo of the animal on her right upper arm, which looks to trigger a memory in Neo's mind. She sports blue hair, which suggests she might be bad news, but he still follows her through a door that leads to another dimension. After following the white rabbit in the first film, Neo might be conditioned to do so subconsciously in this one. But this time, it might not be the best decision.

Sometimes a seemingly innocuous object can mean a lot more that you'd realize on the surface level. Look, we all love a good bath accessory, so sometimes a rubber ducky is just a rubber ducky. But sometimes it's more than that and we have a sneaking suspicion that's the case when we see Thomas Anderson relaxing in the tub for a good soak. About 30 seconds in, our hero is reclining in a very modern-looking bathtub in what appears to be a pretty sweet looking penthouse. Perched atop his head is a rubber duck and he looks to be very contemplative indeed.

It all looks normal, unless you factor in the programming tactic of rubber duck debugging. Wait, what? According to Thoughtful Code, it's a method coders use to figure out exactly what's wrong with something that just refuses to compile; they explain their code, line by line, to the inanimate object, assuming it has no knowledge of coding whatsoever because — well, because it's a rubber duck! In doing so, they're forced to analyze what's actually on the screen — instead of allowing their brains to insert what they think should be there — and come upon the issue. 

Neo/Thomas Anderson rubber ducking in an actual bathtub seems akin to some kind of existential reflection. He's pondering aspects of his life to try to figure out what's wrong or missing, which he seems to stumble upon when meeting Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) in a cafe later in the very next scene of the trailer.

While this is one you really can't miss, about a minute into the new trailer there is a woman at a cafe who Neo approaches. She closes a book that seems to include both "Alice in Wonderland" and its sequel "Through the Looking Glass," before looking at someone with a smile. If you have a keen eye, you might recognize this woman as actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who is a new addition to the franchise in "The Matrix Resurrections."

We don't see much of the actress's character in the trailer, but she already has people theorizing about her role. With big glasses and a knowing look, many think that she could be the new version of the Oracle. The important figure was first played by Gloria Foster, but after she passed in 2001, Mary Alice took over the role for the film "The Matrix Revolutions." Given that it's been around 18 years since that film's release, it wouldn't be surprising to see the character recast and altered for the new movie.

Another theory that some fans have is that Chopra Jonas may be playing the grown up version of the character Sati (Tanveer K. Atwal), who is seen with the Oracle in "The Matrix Revolutions." In the 2003 film, Sati is a young girl being protected because the Oracle thinks she may have an important role to play in the future. While this could be Chopra Jonas's character, the original actress Atwal is also the perfect age to play an older version of Sati now, so it's really anybody's guess.

This new trailer doesn't exactly try to hide that the film is returning to familiar territory. A mysterious figure (played by Jonathan Groff) at the very end of the trailer sums it up himself, saying, "...after all these years, back to the Matrix." The office itself is the most blatant reuse of scenery, but there are several other examples. For instance, Neo and this new Morpheus duke it out in a digital dojo that seems all-too similar from the original dojo featured in the first "Matrix." It's also pretty obvious that, in the scene where Neo deflects a rocket, he and Trinity are at the top of a skyscraper featured in the first film as well.

The skyscraper itself is important because much of its interior scenery — which played a major role in the rescue of Morpheus during the first film — is reused in this trailer. This includes the "rainy" sequence (it's actually the building's sprinkler system) and the lobby where Neo freezes bullets in place. Furthermore, Neo is seen dueling an agent in a subway tunnel just like he did with Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) in the first film. The apartment building where Neo accompanies Morpheus' crew on his first mission is also featured heavily.

All of this recurring imagery almost brings on a sense of "deja vu," which, within the films, has historically been a sign that a glitch has occurred in the Matrix. Perhaps Lana Wachowski is trying to tell us something about our own world by giving them a weird feeling about these very familiar locations.

Just after the two minute mark in the trailer, fans get a quick glimpse of Neo running away from armed assailants in a flame-filled hallway — and right behind him, eagle-eyed viewers can spot that the wall seems to read "Deus Ex Machina." 

Fans of the original trilogy probably remember the term "Deus Ex Machina" from the third film, "Revolutions," where the central sentient control system based in Machine City bears that very name. Upon arriving in the city, Neo begs the Deus Ex Machina — a bizarre robotic being with a face like an infant — to declare an end to the seemingly endless war between humans and machines. Ultimately, the Deus Ex Machina accepts Neo's offer and essentially uses Neo's body to reset the Matrix, deleting all copies of the malevolent Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) in the process.

Beyond that, the term "deus ex machina" has a basis in Greek tragedies; in those stage plays, an actor portraying a savior figure who could fix any problems within the story would be brought onstage by some sort of machine, creating the term. Since Neo, with his specific set of powers within and outside of The Matrix, can salvage nearly any situation throughout the original three films, he's also a deus ex machina. Clearly, Lana Wachowski and her team love seriously layered references.