Why The Matrix Resurrections' Deus Machina Means More Than You Think
Contains spoilers for "The Matrix Resurrections"
Even 20 years after its release, there are enough details in "The Matrix" to send you tumbling down a rabbit hole as fast as a hacker-turned-savior of humanity. There's the classic bit of trivia that "Neo" is an anagram of "One," all the way up to franchise-altering theories about The Oracle handling cookies that may be more than baked goods. It makes perfect sense then that within the eagerly anticipated sequel to the franchise, "The Matrix Resurrections," there are some Easter eggs hidden throughout Neo's (Keanu Reeves) reawakening as the agent-eradicating hero.
Besides closing things out with a familiar tune or plenty of build-ups for Neo to do his "Superman thing," there are some blink-or-you'll-miss-them moments that you're going to want to keep your eyes peeled for. One, in particular, is displayed through cryptic writing on the wall, which hints at exactly who our hero is, as well as his forgotten powers that fans can't wait to see him tap into. Be warned, though, this revelation does contain spoilers.
The sign that points toward Neo's past
In the new film, we see that somehow, Thomas Anderson has been re-inserted into the virtual prison he spent three films breaking apart. Things are looking up to some degree, though, as he's no longer the white-collar office drone that busts out of a cubicle to save humanity. This time around, he's a reclusive, but revered, games designer who used the concept of the Matrix to make an award-winning video game. No matter how fabricated, all of his success is under the roof of a game developer called Deus Machina, which in any other film may not be that important. However, this is "The Matrix" we're talking about now, and with "Resurrections," nothing is applied by chance.
A well-known phrase taken from Latin, Deus ex-machina roughly translates as "god out of the machine," which is a solid description of Neo's place in "The Matrix." Originally set free by Morpheus and his crew in the 1999 film, the former human battery of the machines became a god-like figure among humanity and a considerable threat to the machine army. While it's never confirmed if the developer's name is in fact a subliminal slight from the machines to their sworn nemesis, it's still a cool bit of wall-dressing that some fans may pick up in the film, among every other bit of cleverly-placed coding.
You can see this Easter egg and more in "The Matrix Resurrections," which is in theaters and on HBO Max as of December 22.