Neo, Trinity, and a younger version of Morpheus all appeared in The Matrix Resurrections, but here's all the original Matrix characters who didn't.

Multiple characters from the original Matrix movie didn't return for The Matrix Resurrections, and here's why. Nearly two decades after the divisive double-shot release of The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions in 2003, Warner Bros. and director Lana Wachowski have unleashed The Matrix Resurrections on audiences worldwide. Perhaps appropriately, considering the legacy of the prior two sequels, the reception to Resurrections among both critics and fans has been mixed. Some are calling it the best of the Matrix sequels, although others believe the action-packed Reloaded edges it out in that regard.

It's fair to say that The Matrix Resurrections didn't deliver what many devotees of the franchise might've wanted, that being a fast-paced, fight-filled triumphant return for Neo and Trinity. While some of that does come near the end, The Matrix Resurrections is a very complex, meta, introspective examination of both what the characters of Neo and Trinity mean to their world, and what the real-life Matrix franchise means to its devoted fans.

Related: Everything We Know About The Matrix 5

Surprisingly enough though, since The Matrix Resurrections is in many ways a love letter to the original movie, there really weren't that many characters who came back from that 1999 hit, outside of possible use in archive flashback footage. Neo, Trinity, and a different-looking Agent Smith did return, but Morpheus didn't, at least not in his original human form. Including Morpheus, here's a look at all the original Matrix characters who didn't return to the source.

While Candyman star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II portrays a version of Morpheus in The Matrix Resurrections, this Morpheus is a program created by Neo during the time he believes himself to be a game designer named Thomas Anderson, and was seemingly created due to a subconscious need by Neo to free himself from his prison. The actual human being known as Morpheus, played by Laurence Fishburne, doesn't return for The Matrix Resurrections because he's passed away in the 60 years since the events of The Matrix Revolutions. Before his death though, Morpheus was elected head of the council governing Zion.

One of the most important characters in the Matrix franchise, The Oracle was a program operating inside the digital world that had grown sympathetic to the human cause. The Oracle presents herself as a kindly old Black woman, but is essentially a psychic, and her counsel is repeatedly sought by leaders of the resistance, including Neo, Morpheus, and according to The Matrix Resurrections, Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith). After the death of actress Gloria Foster, Mary Alice took over the role in The Matrix Revolutions. It's unclear what happened to the Oracle program exactly, as Niobe tells Neo in Resurrections that she warned the humans of a new power beginning to rise, before never being seen again, but it's implied she was purged when the new version of the matrix was created. The Oracle's young protégé Sati (introduced in Revolutions), seems to serve a similar role in The Matrix Resurrections, now played by Priyanka Chopra.

Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) was a crew member on Morpheus' ship the Nebuchadnezzar in the first Matrix movie, but grew tired of the post-apocalypse. Cypher cut a deal with Agent Smith to be placed back into a lavish simulated life inside the Matrix. Cypher never got to enjoy this life though, as his betrayal eventually led fellow crew member Tank to kill him with a lightning rifle. Even if he had survived though, one wonders if Smith would've even kept his promise.

Related: Matrix Resurrections Cast Guide: All New, Returning And Recast Characters

Tank and Dozer were brothers, and vital members of Morpheus' crew. Both were born outside the Matrix, with Tank serving as operator of the Nebuchadnezzar and Dozer its pilot. Sadly, Dozer is a casualty of Cypher's betrayal, as he's shot and killed with a lightning rifle. Tank is also shot, but survives, then turns the rifle on Cypher, killing the villain as mentioned previously. Tank survives the original Matrix movie, but is said to have died in The Matrix Reloaded, preventing his possible return as an old man in The Matrix Resurrections. In real-life, Tank's actor had a dispute with Matrix's producers.

Apoc and Switch were another set of Nebuchadnezzar crew members in the first Matrix, and were often partnered together. Sadly, they also died together, as part of Cypher's devastating betrayal and alliance with the machines. Apoc and Switch were both killed while inside the Matrix, as Cypher suddenly disconnected them without following proper procedure, which it had been stressed should never be done. Interestingly, Switch - hence the name - was originally meant to switch genders, with their in-matrix form being female and real-life appearance being male, but Warner Bros. vetoed the idea.

Mouse was a member of Morpheus' crew so-named due to his diminutive stature, and ability to go unnoticed at times. Mouse had a big personality sometimes too though, such as when he excitedly announced to the rest of the crew that Morpheus and Neo were fighting inside a digital battle arena. Sadly, the likeable Mouse ended up killed during an ambush by a SWAT team while inside the Matrix, as part of an attack organized by the agents.

While Hugo Weaving's agent Smith would become the standout villain of the Matrix franchise, he's accompanied in his pursuits of Neo and the resistance by fellow agent programs Brown and Jones throughout the first Matrix movie. After being defeated by Neo, Brown and Jones are never seen in the sequels. A new three-agent team of Johnson, Jackson, and Thompson begin pursuing the heroes, while Smith gets up to his own schemes. It would appear that Brown and Jones were simply retired and replaced with more advanced and more dangerous agent programs.

Choi and DuJour are small roles in the first Matrix movie, but help set the plot in motion. Choi, along with girlfriend DuJour, visits a pre-Neo Thomas Anderson at his apartment to pick up some illegal hacked software. Earlier, Thomas had received a message to "follow the white rabbit," and upon seeing DuJour's white rabbit tattoo (a scene that happens with Bugs in the new film), accompanies the pair to the club where he first meets Trinity. Choi and DuJour are never seen again in the franchise, although considering how many callbacks to the original that The Matrix Resurrections has, it probably would've made sense to have them pop up long enough to be noticed by the still imprisoned Neo, helping to jog his memory.

More: The Matrix Resurrections' Incredible John Wick Cameo Explained

Michael Kennedy is an avid movie and TV fan that's been working for Screen Rant in various capacities since 2014. In that time, Michael has written over 2000 articles for the site, first working solely as a news writer, then later as a senior writer and associate news editor. Most recently, Michael helped launch Screen Rant's new horror section, and is now the lead staff writer when it comes to all things frightening. A FL native, Michael is passionate about pop culture, and earned an AS degree in film production in 2012. He also loves both Marvel and DC movies, and wishes every superhero fan could just get along. When not writing, Michael enjoys going to concerts, taking in live professional wrestling, and debating pop culture. A long-term member of the Screen Rant family, Michael looks forward to continuing on creating new content for the site for many more years to come.