Honestly, the first time you see that green digital rain, you’re hooked. But then you realize there are four movies, an animated anthology, and a bunch of "canon" video games floating around. It gets messy fast. If you’re asking what is the order of the Matrix movies, you’ve probably realized that just clicking "play" on whatever shows up first on your streaming app might leave you with a lot of questions.
The Matrix isn't just a trilogy anymore. It’s a sprawling saga that spans hundreds of years of fictional history. You can watch them in the order they hit theaters, or you can try to piece together the timeline from the literal beginning of the Machine War to sixty years after the "final" battle.
Most people just want the hits. But if you want the full experience? You need to know where the side stories fit.
The Simple Way: Release Date Order
If you’re a purist, this is your path. You watch them exactly how we did back in 1999 and the early 2000s. It’s the safest way to avoid spoilers because the mystery of what the Matrix actually is remains intact for the first two hours.
- The Matrix (1999)
- The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
- The Animatrix (2003)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Notice something weird? 2003 was a massive year for Neo. The Wachowskis dropped two sequels and a collection of shorts within months. It was total sensory overload. The Animatrix actually came out between the second and third movies, which is important because it sets up the stakes for the final siege of Zion.
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The Nerd Way: The Chronological Timeline
This is where things get interesting. If you want to see the rise of the machines and the fall of humanity in order, you have to jump around.
The Deep History (The Prequels)
Before Neo was even a glimmer in the Source's eye, there was the Machine War. You find this in The Animatrix, specifically the two-part segment called "The Second Renaissance." It’s brutal. It explains how B1-66ER (a robot) killed its masters in self-defense, leading to a global conflict and the scorching of the sky. If you start here, you aren't watching a hacker story; you're watching a historical tragedy.
The Original Trilogy Era
Then you hit the 1999 classic. The Matrix takes place roughly around the year 2199, though the simulation makes everyone think it's the late 90s.
After that, the timeline gets crowded. The Animatrix shorts like "A Detective Story" actually happen before the first movie, while "Kid’s Story" and "Final Flight of the Osiris" happen right before The Matrix Reloaded.
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In fact, "Final Flight of the Osiris" is basically the prologue to the second film. It shows the crew of the Osiris discovering the machine army digging toward Zion. Without it, the beginning of Reloaded feels a bit abrupt.
The Big Gap and Resurrections
After The Matrix Revolutions, the story stops for a long time.
Then comes The Matrix Resurrections. This movie is set 60 years after the events of the original trilogy. Humanity has moved from Zion to a new city called Io. Neo and Trinity are back, but they’ve aged (slowly) thanks to some machine-led reconstruction.
Wait, Are the Games Canon?
Kinda. Sorta. Yes.
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Enter the Matrix was designed to be played alongside The Matrix Reloaded. It features over 40 minutes of live-action footage filmed specifically for the game by the Wachowskis. It follows Niobe and Ghost. If you skip it, you're missing actual chunks of the plot, though the movies summarize the important bits.
The Matrix Online is the weird one. It was an MMO that came out in 2005. For years, it was considered the official sequel to the trilogy. It even "killed off" Morpheus. However, The Matrix Resurrections basically ignored the game's plot, so most fans now treat the game as a "what if" scenario or a secondary timeline.
How to Actually Watch Them Today
Don't overcomplicate it. If it's your first time, go with the release order but slide The Animatrix in before you watch the third movie.
- The Matrix: The masterpiece. Don't look up anything before watching.
- The Matrix Reloaded: Higher stakes, crazier stunts, more philosophy.
- The Animatrix: At the very least, watch "The Second Renaissance" and "Final Flight of the Osiris."
- The Matrix Revolutions: The end of the war.
- The Matrix Resurrections: The meta-sequel that looks back at the legacy of the first three.
Your Next Steps
To get started, track down a copy of The Animatrix. It’s often overlooked but contains some of the best world-building in the entire franchise. Once you've watched "The Second Renaissance," go back and re-watch the original 1999 film; you'll notice the machines' motivations feel a lot more tragic than they did the first time around.