It seems like any blockbuster movie worth its salt needs to have an end credits scene these days and not even The Matrix earns an exemption from that rule.
Lana Wachowski’s belated fourth entry The Matrix Resurrections has finally arrived in cinemas, reuniting the franchise’s co-creator with her original stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss.
Many fans will be flocking to see the film this week and those intent on soaking up every moment should be sure to wait until the very end before leaving.
That said, don’t get your hopes up for anything mind-blowing, as Wachowski has opted for a light-hearted sting rather than anything that lays the groundwork for future adventures.
For spoiler-filled details on what awaits patient movie-goers and an honest verdict on whether it’s worth sticking around for, scroll on for our breakdown of The Matrix Resurrections end credits scene.
Once every name and logo has scrolled past – and there’s a heck of a lot of them – we are indeed sent back into The Matrix, specifically the offices of Thomas Anderson’s former employer, Deus Machina.
Last time we were here, Mr Anderson and his somewhat gormless team were attempting to work out exactly what made their Matrix video game so successful, with their list being comprised of meta references to the iconic first film.
Suffice to say, they weren’t getting very far and that’s when a visit from Morpheus triggered fire alarms, effectively bringing the meeting to an abrupt end.
In this end credits scene, we see that several members of the workgroup – including Cooper Rivers’ GJ and Freema Agyeman’s Astra – have continued plugging away at the assignment despite the sudden disappearance of their bosses.
The conclusion they come to is radical.
“Face reality, people: movies are dead, games are dead,” GJ forcefully tells his colleagues, suggesting instead that their Matrix sequel adopt the format of “a series of cat videos that we call The Cat-trix”.
To be fair, that particular genre of content has proven potent all over the internet, but still, this joke would have felt a bit dated in 2011, let alone today.
Of course, that could be the point. As discussed in our The Matrix Resurrections review, Wachowski makes several statements in this new film that seem to hit back against studio filmmaking.
With that being a major theme, perhaps the intention was to craft an underwhelming end credits scene as commentary on the practice of franchise-building. Or maybe this was just poorly judged.
Whichever the case, if you’re keen to leave the cinema at the end of Resurrections – whether due to COVID-19 related anxiety or just an urge to check your parking is still valid – you won’t miss much by making an early exit.
The Matrix Resurrections is out now in UK cinemas. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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