The Matrix Resurrections: First Look at Keanu Reeves as Neo Revealed

Warner Bros. Pictures today released an interactive teaser for Thursday's upcoming trailer for The Matrix Resurrections, and among the brief tidbits of footage available, fans got their first look at Keanu Reeves in his role as Thomas Anderson/Neo. During a CinemaCon presentation last month,footage screened showing Anderson in therapy, having seemingly forgotten about The Matrix. It seems likely this is at least some of the audio in the teaser released for the trailer, which, depending on if you pick the red pill or the blue pill, features a voiceover from either Yahya Abdul-Mateen II or Neil Patrick Harris.

The voiceover certainly bears some resemblance to a typical movie/TV therapy session, complete with a reference to Anderson's inability to differentiate between fantasy and reality. In the footage, Anderson later ran into Carrie-Anne Moss's Trinity at a coffee shop, but neither recognized the other.

It seems likely - although it's currently unconfirmed -- that this is the latest iteration of an idea that popped up in the first trilogy -- that of The One trying, over and over again, to make his way out of The Matrix, only to fail and end up back in the system to start again. If so, at least one version of Neo looks less like the turn of the century bad boy that came through last time, and more like a more modern Keanu Reeves, complete with his John Wick beard. You can see that shot below.

Directed by series co-creator Lana Wachowski, The Matrix Resurrections brings back original franchise stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss. Other cast members include Christina Ricci, Priyanka Chopra, Neil Patrick Harris, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Ellen Hollman.

The Matrix is one of the most successful film franchises based on an original idea in the last 25 years. Originally released in 1999, The Matrix earned $466 million ($739 million when adjusted for inflation) on a reported $63 million budget. It spawned two sequels, a direct-to-DVD animated tie-in, some comics, and fundamentally changed the way action and science fiction were shot in the U.S.

It also transformed Reeves into a major action star overnight; prior to The Matrix, his Point Break and Speed success felt more like an outlier than a trend, with Reeves being best known for dramas like The River's Edge and comedies like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Once he was Neo, the floodgates were open, and by the time John Wick came around in 2014, Reeves was not just a bona fide action icon, but one of the most universally-beloved actors in Hollywood.

The Matrix Resurrections opens in theaters and debuts on HBO Max on December 22nd. If you haven't signed up for HBO Max yet, you can try it out here.

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