The Matrix franchise was released in a trilogy and has the best movies in Chronological Order; it’s the story of the technological fall of humankind that created artificial intelligence and led to self-awareness. The report includes philosophical, religious, and spiritual ideas. The Matrix emphasizes mythology, anime, and Hong Kong action movies, particularly Heroic bloodshed and martial arts moves. It also has action scenes, bullet-time choreographed, and slow-motion effects.
The first movie was a tremendous commercial success; it won four Academy Awards. ‘Red pill’ and ‘Blue pill’ were created as a symbolic culture.
Confusion arises when it comes to the most convenient way of watching the order due to various additions to the story, like Animatrix, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions, the three popular feature-length films.
The Matrix franchise rolled down in 1999, casting Keanu Reeves as Neo, Lawrence Fishburne as Morpheus, and Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity. The movie is about hackers, and eventually, Neo finds the world he lives in is unreal and is created through the machines that have restrained the human race.
Morpheus and Trinity hire Neo to get together to fight the machines and restrained world. The franchise began as a trilogy; one way to start watching The Matrix series is to go by the release date. For the newcomers, the obvious way is to follow our universe timeline.
So, it is generally recommended to start with The Matrix original. When you are short on time, prioritize the primary film trilogy.
Matrix Movies In Order Of Release Date
1. The Matrix – March 1999
It is an American Science-fiction movie released in the year 1999. It is directed by ‘Wachowskis’ plus Joel Silver produced it. The first installment of the franchise stars Neo as Keanu Reeves, Trinity as Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano.
Keanu Reeves plays Neo, a computer hacker who continuously comes across a single phase, increasing his curiosity. He always comes across something that is called Matrix.
To receive his answers, he believes a mysterious man ‘Morpheus’ played by Laurence Fishbone, can be helpful. Morpheus is said to be very dangerous. He met ‘Trinity’ played by Carrie-Anne Moss, who helped Neo meet Morpheus for the first time.
They together fought the intelligent agents. Sooner, Neo realized that every fight leads him to more significant consequences, far more than death itself. The Matrix is among the famous and popular movie franchise which is still quite famous in 2023.
2. Matrix Reloaded – May 2003
The Matrix Reloaded is a continuation of The Matrix, released in 2003, an American sci-fi movie. ‘Wachowskis’ directed it, and it was produced by ‘Joel Silver.’
The never-ending battle continued between Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, Keanu Reeves as Neo, and Laurence Fishbone as Morpheus against the Machines on the edge. Despite the lethal skills, the fight against machines was brutal. With due time, Neo realized his role in saving humankind more clearly.
3. The Animatrix – June 2003
A director prefaces both entries, The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded. The plot of The Animatrix focuses on Osiris is, a watercraft transportation meant to fight and defend the last human city. It baffles being captured by Sentinels by defending the city of Zion.
4. The Matrix Revolutions – November 2003
The Matrix Revolutions 2003 was released in November 2003 as the third installment to the Matrix franchise, six months after The Matrix Reloaded’s release. In the 3rd part, Neo finds himself trapped in banishment.
Most of the world is captured by the machines in the virtual world they created. The continuation and survival of humankind depend on the shoulders of Neo.
5. The Matrix Resurrections – December 2021
The Matrix Resurrections is among the popular installments of the Matrix franchise, which is very different from what we have seen till now. This part incorporated many actors of other races, pitching for societal equality.
Until now, if you thought the Matrix was complex, this one will blow your mind even further. This movie takes place where Neo is shown as a video game developer. And then the Matrix unfolds there.
Also Read: The Matrix Resurrections: What Does Mnemosyne Mean?
Matrix Movies & Games In Chronological Order
If you are familiar with the premise, watching the movie based on its timeline is a catch. Here is a list of all Matrix movies and games in chronological order.
1. The Animatrix: The Second Renaissance, Part 1 and 2
It occurred in the 21st century when the machine war was imperative and essential. The instructor narrates the story from his point of view, who is an interpreter of the Zion Archives; all pre-machine histories are stored in the archive.
2. The Animatrix: Detective Story Point of View
Ash is a detective who receives a phone call to watch in to carry out surveillance for a girl known as ‘Trinity,’ a hacker. The movie revolves around Ash’s investigation before the Matrix, giving us a backstory of Trinity.
3. The Matrix
Around 2199, The first movie, Matrix, arrives. In the Matrix version, it happens in the year 1999. The 1999 movie is among the top created IMDb-rated films; the rating is now 8.7 out of the box.
The movie has been directed and written by Lana Wachowski.
Also Read: The Matrix Resurrections Sequel: What Are Speculations and What We Know So Far?
4. The Animatrix: Kid’s Story
Kid story takes place as soon Neo learns about the Matrix from Morpheus. The story follows a kid who takes the blue pill, dreams about Neo and tries to figure out what he has to say about the Matrix.
5. The Animatrix, Final Flight
The director preludes both entries, The Matrix, followed by The Matrix Reloaded. The Osiris is a watercraft that wars to defend the last and surviving human city. It baffles being captured by Sentinels by defending the city of Zion.
6. Enter the Matrix
It is a video game that overlaps with the Final Fight of the Osiris and The Matrix. The story also correlates with The Matrix Reloaded, a video game.
Enter the Matrix was released in 2003 and has been among the top Action-Adventure video games. Moreover, The Matrix Relocated movie has inspired the game.
7. The Matrix Reloaded
Six months later, ‘The Matrix,’ a new add-on known as ‘The Matrix Reloaded‘, is delivered. The Matri Reloaded got decent reviews with a 7.2 rating out of 10. Keanu Reeves‘s star movie follows the second new adventure of the main character, Neo, and the rebel leaders.
Neo and his team of leaders estimated that they just had 72 hours until Zion fell under the siege of the Machine Army.
8. The Matrix Revolutions
It begins following the events of ‘The Matrix Revolutions’ quickly, just about seven months after ‘The Matrix.’
The storyline follows Neo, trapped between the Matrix and the Real World. Here, we also saw Zion preparing for the oncoming war with machines.
9. The Matrix: Path of Neo
It is a video game; it traverses their entire time shot after watching the three movies together. Interestingly, Path of Neo offers an exciting ending.
Also, the 2005 released action-adventure game was among the favorite games of game lovers from the past. Players get the chance to play the character named Neo.
10. The Matrix Online
It is a role-playing game. It revolves around the ace to collate the fragments of Neo by following the subsequent events of the Revolutions. The matrix game takes place after the wrapping up of the trilogy, but the exact dates are not mentioned.
Also Read: The Matrix 4: Trailer Release Date, Cast and What is all the Hype about?
11. The Animatrix: Beyond
After an indefinite time, the world record beyond come. It’s called fuzzy because there are no joints. Can unite it back to another spot in time.
12. The Animatrix: Matriculated
Its period is difficult as it doesn’t have clear hints about its events and happenings. Matriculated is among the famous episodes within the Matrix franchise where the episode. Moreover, this is the story of a resistance group recruiting a sentinel to their cause.
13. The Animatrix: Program
Program era is challenging to describe as they are somber. Also, the fifth episode of the Matrix franchise focuses on the plot of two characters, Cis and Duo. They both are the pair of freed minds who have been practicing Samurai sword fights.
D o and Cis often fall into the conversation, talking about living outside the Matrix world. However, he wants Cis to live outside Matrix, but Cis has been denied the opportunity to live.
Also Read: Matrix 4: Keanu Reeves and Priyanka Chopra Jonas movie gets a New Title during CinemaCon Reel
14. The Animatrix: World Record
Similar to “The Kid’s Story,” “World Record” features a man named An who momentarily breaks out of the Matrix due to the strength of his physical willpower. Unlike Kid, Dan only self-actualizes momentarily, at the pinnacle of his race, before he crashes back into the Matrix.
Moreover, the story is set in an unspecified time in The Matrix canon, ugh, presumably in the previous version of The Matrix, given the presence of the Agents.
15. The Matrix Resurrection
The Matrix Resurrections is set 60 years after the events of The Matrix Revolutions. Also we see the humans have moved to a new city named IO, run by Niobe (Jada Pinkett-Smith).
Moreover, Neo’s sacrifice and reinserting himself into the Matrix has led to a period of peace and the creation of a much stronger matrix that fewer people are willing to unplug from. The movie has received decent reviews, with a 5.7 rating of 10.