Why Bugs From The Matrix Resurrections Looks So Familiar

It's time to join Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) as they jump back into a new reality in "The Matrix Resurrections." Fans of the original trilogy are understandably excited to see how the story picks up nearly two decades after "The Matrix Revolutions" arrived in theaters. The 2003 film ends with Neo striking a deal with the machines to reboot the Matrix while the human race is free to do as they please, although there's still plenty of debate about all the themes it toys with. Hopefully, like Neo, fans will find the answers they've been looking for in "Resurrections."

The upcoming sequel film has amassed a truly impressive cast to fight in the war alongside Reeves' iconic hero. As seen in the trailers for "Resurrections," Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays a different version of Morpheus, and Priyanka Chopra takes on the role of Sati. Additionally, Jonathan Groff joins the franchise as Matt Hinges, a new character described by a press release from Warner Bros. as a "slick, confident corporate type with insouciant charm." Meanwhile, Jada Pinkett Smith and Lambert Wilson will reprise their respective roles as Niobe and the Merovingian from the original trilogy.

But there's another familiar star in "Resurrections" who fans will definitely recognize: Jessica Henwick as Bugs, a blue-haired gunslinger. She also has the white rabbit tattoo — a symbol of going down the rabbit hole of unearthing this virtual world — and, well, her name is practically Bugs Bunny. (Good joke, eh, Doc?) Anyway, here's why Bugs from "The Matrix Resurrections" looks so familiar.

After appearing in a handful of British dramas like "Silk" and "Inspector Lewis" (via IMDb), Jessica Henwick landed a minor role in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" back in 2015. She plays Jessika Pava, aka Jess or Testor, one of the Resistance fighter pilots. According to Wookiepedia, the pilot was born after the Empire falls in "Return of the Jedi" and believes in the legends of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill).

Jessika joins the Resistance to follow in Luke's footsteps, as she wants to put some good into the universe. Obviously, she winds up facing the First Order, like the rest of the Resistance. She flies under Poe Dameron's (Oscar Isaac) leadership, and she's part of the assault on Starkiller Base in the finale of "The Force Awakens." She's one of the lucky few who survives the huge battle and celebrates with the rest of the Resistance in their base on the planet D'Qar.

Henwick originally auditioned to play Rey in the series, but the role ultimately went to Daisy Ridley. When speaking to NME about the missed opportunity in 2020, Henwick said she was disappointed after the "long, very arduous" audition process. "It was very hard for me when I didn't get it. But I see why – Daisy did such an incredible job, and it was 100 percent her journey to make," she shared.

But the star also knows that her career would've been drastically different if she'd got it, adding, "It wasn't meant for me – my life would have been completely different!"

"Game of Thrones" Season 5 introduces the Sand Snakes, the eight daughters of Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) and want to avenge their father's death by going to war with House Lannister. Jessica Henwick plays the second-eldest daughter, Nymeria Sand, an expert with an eight-foot-long bullwhip. 

The Sand Snakes' quest for vengeance eventually leads them to target Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Cersei Lannister's (Lena Headey) daughter. Although Nymeria isn't the one who poisons Myrcella Baratheon (Nell Tiger Free), she watches her mother, Ellaria (Indira Varma), do the deed with a deadly kiss before she leaves for King's Landing with her father. The Sand Snakes eventually ally themselves with Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), although things don't end well for Nymeria because Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) strangles her to death using her own whip in Season 7, Episode 2, "Stormborn" (via IMDb).

The star told Entertainment Weekly in 2017 that shooting her death scene "was grueling." Henwick explained that this particular scene didn't rely on CGI, unlike other big sequences. She shared, "For this, the audience can't feel the heat on their face from the pyrotechnics going off or feel the wave machine trying to knock us off our feet, or the sweat dripping off our faces." She also added, "They were blowing burning embers onto us. One of the stunt double's wigs caught fire."

In 2017, Jessica Henwick stepped into Netflix's Marvel universe as Colleen Wing in "Iron Fist." Colleen is originally a member of the Hand after she is recruited into the criminal organization by Bakuto (Ramón Rodríguez). However, she eventually winds up working with Danny Rand (Finn Jones) to discover the connection between Rand Enterprises and Madame Gao's (Wai Ching Ho) heroin ring. She later works with the other street-level heroes to stop the Hand from taking over New York in Netflix's "The Defenders."

Colleen's story gets much more interesting in "Iron Fist" Season 2 — and yes, it's worth watching. The show delivers a Daughters of the Dragon team-up between Colleen and Misty Knight (Simone Missick), much like the comics team of the same name. Misty even has a robotic arm after the events of "The Defenders." The series leaves Colleen in a truly fascinating place, as the power of the Iron Fist is transferred from Danny to her. She even figures out a way of imbuing her family katana with the energy, which makes her a truly formidable vigilante. If Charlie Cox is possibly returning to the MCU as Matt Murdock, could Jessica Henwick come back as Colleen Wing? Come on, Kevin Feige, it's the right thing to do.

Jessica Henwick's career continued to flourish when she took on the role of Aimee in Paramount Pictures' 2020 apocalyptic adventure "Love and Monsters" alongside Dylan O'Brien as Joe. The story takes place after the Earth is ravaged by a "chemical fallout" after destroying an asteroid that would've hit the planet. The result is surreal, with many animals mutated into giant monsters, and the planet had become extremely dangerous for most of the population. The heart of the "Love and Monsters" plot revolves around Joe searching for his pre-monster-apocalypse girlfriend, Aimee, since his entire colony of survivors is all coupled up.

It's a fun adventure, and Henwick's action prowess gets some of the spotlight later on in the film during a dramatic finale involving (checks notes) a giant crab. She works incredibly well opposite O'Brien in the film, and it's a clear sign that her career is only going to get bigger and better over the years. It also helps that "Love and Monsters" was met with rave reviews upon release. It holds a surprising 94% critic rating and an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.