As the upcoming Matrix 4 gets closer to its release, many are wondering what the movie will be about. It seems as though in the original trilogy everything was fairly neatly wrapped up, as two of the main characters, Neo and Trinity, die at the end. Some are theorizing that the film might draw inspiration from another one of the Wachowskis’ projects they created with J. Michael Straczynski, the Netflix show, Sense8.
Sense8 was short-lived, with only 24 episodes spanning 2 seasons. The show was fairly well-received, with an 8.3/10 overall review on IMDb. The show is not as fast-paced as The Matrix was, opting for more of a slow burn that gradually introduces the audience to the big picture. It focuses on how the lives of individual people are more connected than they realize. In some ways, the show seems to bear a greater resemblance to Cloud Atlas (another Wachowski project) than it does The Matrix. Cloud Atlas also regarded connections between different people that those people were not themselves entirely aware of, only they existed in different time periods as opposed to all of them existing at the same time, just in different places in the world as it is in Sense8.
The premise of Sense8 is that there are eight individuals, living around the world, none of whom have ever met. They each quickly realize that they have all begun to feel the emotions and access the knowledge of their other ‘sensates,’ the seven other individuals they are connected with. They are even able to communicate telepathically with one another. These sensates are considered to be the next stage of human evolution, thus causing them to be hunted by a mysterious entity known as Whispers.
The show takes its time to get into the main conflict. The first and even the second episode largely function as exposition on all eight of the main characters. Eight characters is a lot to learn about over the course of a 50-minute episode, but after the first few, the show starts to get much more interesting. This could be an explanation as to why the show was canceled, as some viewers may have given the first episode a chance but weren’t intrigued enough to continue watching.
Sense8 is fairly visually appealing in its production design, which is due to the fact that the show was almost entirely shot on location. This is no small feat, as the show takes place all over the world; in Berlin, Chicago, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi, Reykjavík, San Francisco, and Seoul. This allowed for a diverse cast as well, even if the characters do tend to fall into the realm of stereotypical tropes at points. It is also one of the few shows to prominently feature a transgender character, as well as have that character played by a trans actor.
It seems that the Wachowskis had intended for the show to have a run of about five seasons, and they had a lot of ideas as to where the plot might go. Since the show was canceled, and now Lana Wachowski is working on Matrix 4, it seems very possible that some of the ideas that were intended for the later seasons of Sense8 will work their way into the new film. In addition, many of the cast members from the show have been announced as actors in the film.
Actors returning from the original Matrix include Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett-Smith. Adding to the cast for this new movie is Priyanka Chopra, Johnathan Groff, Yahya Abdul-Maten II, Jessica Henwick, and Neil Patrick Harris. From Sense8, the characters Will (Brian J. Smith), Wolfgang (Max Riemelt), Daniela (Eréndira Ibarra), and the actor who played Capheus in season 2 (Toby Onwumere), all are going to be in The Matrix 4. But with so many other actors, who knows how big of a role the cast members of Sense8 will play.
There was an AMA of sorts that Straczynski did on Twitter, where he answered some questions about where the show might have gone had it stayed on the air. One of the main characters was supposed to die as a sacrifice for the rest of his sensates. This would make their connections as a group of seven stronger than it was when it was eight, potentially even giving them abilities equivalent to superpowers. One of the main characters’ husbands was eventually supposed to become a villain.
One character was supposed to ‘give birth’ to a new group of sensates just as this group of sensates was ‘born’ in the opening scene of the first episode of the show. The showrunners were also thinking of including connections similar to the ones in Cloud Atlas, where the sensates also interact with people they are connected with who are from the past and the future. It seems like all of these events are things that could happen within the world of The Matrix, and there are fan theories that the sensates can engage with each other because they are all aware, on some physical level, of the Matrix.
In Sense8 there were interesting ideas about each of the characters and how they all connect with one another. In The Matrix, however, the only character that the audience really gets to engage with is Neo. Trinity, Morpheus, and Agent Smith are in the film a fair amount, but the majority of the other characters die pretty much as soon as they are introduced. If The Matrix 4 were to take anything from Sense8, hopefully it would be that it includes a variety of interesting characters who engage with each other within the Matrix, so that the audience can also subsequently engage with them as well, as opposed to only really focusing on one character. Especially since the audience already knows how things play out with Neo after the three existing films.
