The Matrix is remarkable. As a film, it's one of the best films of the 1990s. As a franchise, it's one of the last hot commodities in Hollywood not based on anything but an original idea sprung from its creators' minds.
That said, no film emerges perfectly formed - The Matrix certainly didn't. Looking at both the original film and the sequels that followed, there are plenty of major revisions and different paths that could have lead to a different story.
10 Other Actors Were Considered For Neo
Keanu Reeves is perfectly cast in The Matrix - his limited expressiveness informs Neo's character rather than hindering it. The first choice for Neo was Johnny Depp, but WB was opposed this. According to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Sandra Bullock was also sent the script. If she agreed, Neo would have been rewritten as a woman.
Most famously, Will Smith passed on the part. In a 2004 interview with WIRED magazine, he explained his decision, stating that "The Matrix is a difficult concept to pitch. In the pitch, I just didn't see it." Smith voiced no regrets, feeling he wasn't a "mature" enough actor for the part yet.
9 Different Actors Could Have Filled The Supporting Roles
Hong Kong star Chow Yun-Fat turned down the role of Morpheus. Other actors considered for Morpheus included Samuel L. Jackson and Gary Oldman. Considering how perfectly Laurence Fishburne fit the part, everything worked out for the best. Jean Reno turned down the role of Agent Smith, as he was unwilling to move to Australia for the shoot.
For the sequels, Sean Connery was the first choice for the Architect, and passed. Jet Li turned down the role of Seraph for ethical reasons. Jet Li's concerns revolved around the heavily digital filmmaking process. His martial art moves would be downloaded into a Hollywood database. Li would have no control over his image, and studios could use his movements in films without involving him.
8 The Machines Had A Different Reason For Harvesting Humans
In the original conceptualization of The Matrix, the machines harvest humans and their brains to amp up processing power. The humans are neurally linked to a vast virtual reality, the Matrix. Studio executives thought the concept of cerebral computer networks was too complicated for the average viewer. The story was rewritten so that the machines use the bodies as energy sources. This is simultaneously a simpler idea to grasp, but one that makes less scientific sense. Even so, the fundamentals of the allegory still hold up.
7 Morpheus Had Found Other "Ones" Before Neo
A subplot cut from The Matrix was the revelation that Neo wasn't the first "One" who Morpheus had found. Cypher told Neo that Morpheus had previously freed five other "Ones" from the Matrix, all of who died fighting the Agents.
Neo would later confront Morpheus, and Morpheus realized his purpose was not to anoint the One, but to discover them. This subplot, which might have been recycled into the twist about the prophecy in Reloaded, could have added some weight to Neo's doubts about being The One. This would make his eventual triumph even more powerful.
6 Cypher's Cynicism Would Be More Well-Founded
The cut subplot would've also added greater context to Cypher's heel turn. In The Matrix, Cypher has been so worn down by the harshness of reality that he regrets his decision to take the Red Pill. Thus, he cuts a deal with the Machines: betray his comrades and they return him to the Matrix.
Cypher resents Morpheus, arguing he essentially tricked the Nebuchadnezzar crew into joining him. As Cypher has evidence to see Morpheus' quest for the One as a doomed snipe hunt, his betrayal understandable (if still selfish).
5 Warner Bros Wanted The Steak Scene Cut
One of the most pivotal scenes in The Matrix is when Cypher makes his deal with the Devil. He meets with Smith in the Matrix and over a steak dinner, declares "ignorance is bliss" before agreeing to sell out humanity. Yet it was a scene Warner Bros fought to cut - they were thankfully overruled.
Joe Pantoliano recalled the Wachowskis playing a prank on him. The sisters told him that WB wanted the steak scene cut, but Keanu Reeves was lobbying to keep it. Pantoliano, who had not read the script, assumed this was because Reeves wanted more screen-time. As the Wachowskis bursted into laughter, Pantoliano realized he'd been as ignorant as Cypher.
4 Switch Was Meant To Be Transgender
An increasingly popular reading of The Matrix is as an allegory for gender transition. The Wachowskis have since come out as trans-women themselves. A cut element from The Matrix would have strengthened this.
Nebuchadnezzar crew member, Switch, was originally going to be played by a woman while inside the Matrix, and a man outside. The implication would be that Switch's digital female self was closer to their true self-image. In The Matrix Resurrections, Switch is simply an androgynous woman.
3 The Nebuchadnezzar Could Have Had A Crew Member Named Cable
In The Matrix, the Nebuchadnezzar has nine crew members: Morpheus, Trinity, Neo, Cypher, Tank, Dozer, Switch, Mouse, and Apoc. In an early draft dated 1996, there is a crew mate who doesn't appear in Resurrection - Cable. He ends up dying alongside Mouse. Considering the Wachowskis are comic fans and the script was written in the mid 90s, it's plausible that Cable was named in tribute to the X-Men character.
2 Tank Could Have Returned For The Sequels
Of the nine Nebuchadnezzar crew members, only four are alive by the end. One of them is Tank, the ship's operator. Tank was clearly meant to return in sequels, but there was a disagreement between the Wachowskis and actor Marcus Chong. As a result, Tank was killed off between films and new character Link (Harold Perrineau) filled the void that he left. Making the replacement even more obvious, Link is written as the brother-in-law of the late Tank and Dozer.
1 Hugo Weaving Was Contacted To Return In Resurrections
Both Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving sat out The Matrix Resurrections, despite Morpheus and Smith returning. In their place, Yahya Abdul-Manteen II and Jonathan Groff filled in. The Morpheus recast was always intended, since Resurrections' iteration is technically a new character. However, efforts were made to get Hugo Weaving to reprise the role of Smith. Unfortunately, Weaving was acting in Tony Kushner's play The Visit during filming, hence his replacement by Groff.