'The Matrix' Director Breaks Down the Film's Transgender Allegory

21 years after the original film's release, Netflix sat down with The Matrix Trilogy director Lilly Wachowski, who opened up about the transgender allegory subtly explored throughout the franchise. 

"When you talk about transformation specifically in the world of science fiction, which is just about imagination and world-building and the idea of the seemingly impossible becoming possible, that's why it speaks to them that much."

The iconic sci-fi films are undeniably a cultural phenomenon, but hold a special place in the hearts of many transgender fans around the world. Lana Wachowski publicly came out as transgender in 2012 and Lilly came out in 2016. Through the late '90s and early 2000s films, the Wachowski sisters were able to create their own worlds where they could be who they wanted to the fullest extent of their imaginations, even though they were still in the closet. 

"Because trans people exist in this, especially for me and Lana, we're existing in this space where the words didn't exist so we were always living in a world of imagination. It's why I gravitated toward science fiction and fantasy, it was all about creating worlds. It freed us up as filmmakers because we were able to imagine stuff at that time that you didn't necessarily see on screen."

The most explicit example of those desires was the original vision of the character Switch. 

"The Matrix stuff was all about the desire of transformation but it was all coming from a closeted point of view," says Wachowski. "We had the character of Switch who was a character who would be a man in the real world and a woman in the matrix. That's where our headspaces were." 

The Wachowskis are currently in production for the upcoming untitled sequel, Matrix 4, which is expected in the spring of 2022 and will reportedly feature several members of the original cast, including Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves.

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