This chronological list arranges the films and animated shorts by in-universe order, revealing the rise of AI, the destruction of civilization, and the many iterations of the Matrix itself.
This breakdown includes The Animatrix anthology, which serves as both prequel and bridge content, and positions Resurrections at the end, where code, memory, and identity converge in a fractured future.
Chronological Order of The Matrix Films and Related Stories
| Title | In-Universe Period | Key Events |
|---|---|---|
| The Animatrix: The Second Renaissance (Parts I & II) | Early 21st Century | Machines gain sentience. Humanity reacts with violence. War begins. The sky is scorched. Machines build the first Matrix after human defeat and subjugation. |
| The Animatrix: A Detective Story | Unknown, Pre-Matrix (1999) | A noir tale of a private detective attempting to track down Trinity inside the Matrix, before Neo’s arrival. Glimpses into early human resistance activity. |
| The Animatrix: Kid’s Story | Just Before The Matrix (1999) | A high school student becomes self-aware inside the Matrix and wakes himself. The same character appears later as “The Kid” in Reloaded and Revolutions. |
| The Matrix | ~2199 (Simulated 1999) | Thomas Anderson becomes Neo, breaks out of the Matrix, and learns the truth about the war. Begins training under Morpheus and confronts Agent Smith. |
| The Animatrix: Final Flight of the Osiris | Directly Pre-Revolutions | Ship Osiris discovers the machine army digging toward Zion. Their crew sends a final warning message to the Resistance, leading into Reloaded. |
| The Matrix Reloaded | Six Months After The Matrix | Neo and the crew battle upgraded agents. Zion prepares for war. Neo meets the Architect and learns about the cyclical nature of the Matrix and past "Ones." |
| The Matrix Revolutions | Immediately After Reloaded | War reaches Zion. Neo sacrifices himself to delete Agent Smith, resetting peace between humans and machines. The Matrix is rebooted once more. |
| The Matrix Resurrections | Decades Later | A new version of the Matrix is overseen by The Analyst. Neo and Trinity, resurrected by machines, begin to break free again. Reality blurs with code. A new future begins, built not on prophecy, but choice. |
Viewed chronologically, the Matrix narrative becomes more than just a hero’s journey. It reveals a closed-loop mythos of control, resistance, and renewal. Each film and short reflects a different generation’s reckoning with power and reality - whether in the first awakening of the machines, the spiritual emergence of Neo, or the reconstructed future of Resurrections. The deeper you go, the more you question what’s simulation, and what’s truth.
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