It’s been 18 years since audiences said goodbye to the cast of The Matrix trilogy back in 2003. So, when it was announced in 2019 that there would be a fourth film in the franchise titled The Matrix Resurrections, fans were quick to theorize about the plot and which characters would be returning for the new outing or sitting this next chapter out. However, some were understandably upset after news broke that Laurence Fishburne wasn’t invited back to reprise his role as the inimitable revolutionary and captain of the Nebuchadnezzar, Morpheus. After all, his character is just as iconic as Neo and is very much integral to the original story.
Recently, Collider talked to Fishburne about whether it gets old being asked about The Matrix saga and his absence from the new film. He then responded, unbothered, “No, I completely understand that . . .So it doesn’t get old. I am not in the next Matrix movie, and you’d have to ask Lana Wachowski why because I don’t have an answer for that.” While many fans disbelieve Fishburne and subscribe to the theory that he’s playing coy about making an appearance, an intriguing event regarding his fate has already unfolded in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, The Matrix Online.
The Matrix Online is a canon continuation of the trilogy that was live from 2005-2009. The Wachowskis even gave the MMORPG their blessing, lending credit to the game as a sanctioned extension of the film universe. Although Morpheus features at the beginning of the story, the even-tempered Zion operative meets a violent yet anticlimactic end that many players argue is unfit for his character. In Chapter 1.2, the Machines refuse to give Morpheus Neo’s remains. Consequently, he conducts coordinated terrorist attacks to reveal the innermost parts of the Matrix, its hidden code, for all of humankind to witness. Unfortunately, his actions cause the bluepills ignorant to the simulation to see the code, which forces awakenings and causes mass hysteria, all due to Morpheus' attempts to try and goat his adversaries into action.
On his continued quest to disrupt the Matrix, Morpheus then plants a code bomb, also known as a logic bomb, in the Rumbaar water treatment facility. Soon after, he discovers that a program called the Assassin has taken the form of a mysterious masked figure and is hot on his trail. Morpheus briefly escapes, but shockingly, his killer bends the code of the Matrix and ambushes him by emerging from a nearby wall vent. Caught by surprise in the middle of the Assasin’s crosshairs, Morpheus apparently dies from multiple gunshot wounds.
RELATED: Free Guy Is Far Better Than The Matrix - Here's How
Interestingly, his demise has been hotly debated online, with some players asserting that Morpheus couldn’t be dead because of an "Emergency Jack-Out" upgrade the Matrix now provides for redpills. Essentially, this respawn advancement eliminates the experience of permanent death if someone dies inside the Matrix as it was during the time before the Truce. Moreover, despite this loophole to his survival existing, there's an even more overly complicated clarification for why it doesn't work, further dashing all hope that Morpheus escaped with his life. As the explanation goes, the Assassin's bullets contain special code encryption called a “kill code” that conveniently bypasses the "Emergency Jack-Out" upgrade. Go figure.
Nonetheless, that fact hasn't stopped the rumor mill from continuing to turn, as many players believe Morpheus faked his death, mainly because a few redpills received an email from their leader saying that he would “fade away” into hiding before he is murdered. And similar to Neo, Morpheus' remains were not recovered. Therefore, he could still be out there in the real world. Whatever the case, fans are curious to see if the storylines from The Matrix Online will remain canon or not once Resurrections is released. But even if it is, the enigma surrounding Morpheus’ strange absence from the movie will need to be addressed somehow, considering most viewers will have never even heard of the MMORPG where he seemingly died.
To see how Morpheus' absence is explained, The Matrix: Resurrections arrives in theaters and on HBO Max Dec. 22.
KEEP READING: John Wick 4 Taps Dusk Till Dawn Star as Keanu Reeves' Next Adversary