The Fortnite Connection You Missed In The Matrix Resurrections
Spoilers ahead for "The Matrix Resurrections"
Nearly 20 years after the third installment in "The Matrix" film series hit theaters, "The Matrix Resurrections" is finally here. Even with the passage of this immense period of time, one of the most jarring aspects of the film is realizing just how much has changed since then in the world of "The Matrix." The latest installment picks up decades after 2003's "The Matrix Revolutions," and viewers quickly discover that not only is Neo (Keanu Reeves) alive, but he has also reverted to his simulated identity, Thomas Anderson, and has almost no memory of his past.
Since we last saw him, Thomas Anderson has become a successful video game developer who has designed a whole series of games based on dreams he has about his previous life as Neo, not recognizing them as real memories. Turning an iconic sci-fi hero like Neo into the head of a video game company is certainly a bold choice, especially when it's revealed that his business partner is none other than Agent Smith (Jonathan Groff).
This video game plays a huge role in the plot of the movie because the surviving humans living in the real world, outside the Matrix, can use the game's code to locate Neo and rescue him. As if that wasn't enough, director Lana Wachowski seems to have doubled down on this connection between video games and the Matrix by directly referencing the wildly popular battle royale game "Fortnite" in one of the film's early scenes.
The CCO of Epic Games has a cameo at Neo's workplace
During a scene in which Neo is attempting to evacuate everyone from his office, we see that one member of his team is played by none other than Donald Mustard, the CCO of Epic Games and the developer behind "Fortnite." Mustard even gets a close-up and single throwaway line, which involves telling Neo he thinks the building is being attacked by "someone pissed about the latest update."
Mustard's brief cameo is a neat little treat because it reminds audiences of the recent collaboration between "The Matrix" and Epic Games in "The Matrix Awakens," which is currently marketed as an "Unreal Engine 5 Experience" available on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. On top of that, the cameo may also be a small homage to one of Fortnite's character skins, which was mistaken for Keanu Reeves so often that eventually Epic Games just made an entirely separate skin to put the actor in the game for real (via The Independent).
Like many aspects of the film, it's a fun detail that works on multiple levels, and just one of the many Easter eggs fans should keep an eye out for the next time they watch "The Matrix Resurrections."