Interesting Facts About The Matrix Reloaded

Approximately 97 per cent of the materials from the film sets were recycled once filming had finished. For example, tonnes of timber were shipped to Mexico to be used in the construction of low‑income housing.

General Motors donated 300 cars to be used during the film's production. By the time filming concluded, all 300 had been wrecked.

When Smith arrives in an Audi at the start of the film, his number plate reads IS 5416. In the King James Version, Isaiah 54:16 declares: 'Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.'

When the Merovingian curses in French, he utters: "Nom de Dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperie de connard d'enculé de ta mère." It's merely a sequence of expletives chained together and would translate roughly as: "God-damned whore, filthy shithouse, bastard, bugger of your mother."

The fight scene pitting Neo against Smith and his clones, commonly referred to as "The Burly Brawl", was filmed over a 27-day period.

Sir Sean Connery had originally been chosen to portray the Architect, but he declined the role because he couldn't grasp the film's concept. Connery refers to this in an interview included on the The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) DVD.

Trinity employs a genuine hack to infiltrate the power station's computer systems. She runs Nmap v2.54BETA25 — a legitimate port-scanning utility used by both network administrators and hackers — to locate an SSH server with a vulnerability, and then exploits it using the SSH1 CRC32 exploit first disclosed in 2001.

Nearly three months were spent shooting the film's motorway chase sequence — a duration longer than the entire shooting schedule of many other films. It was filmed at the closed Alameda Naval Air Station (Latitude 37°47'26.69"N Longitude 122°19'8.08"W). The main east–west runway, and part of another, were partially resurfaced and marked out as a restricted-access road, complete with entrance and exit ramps. The "sound barrier" walls restricted viewing angles and made it easier to insert a CGI skyline. Satellite and aerial imagery still reveal the remains of the roadway, particularly when viewed with a tool that displays past images (circa October 2002).

The part of Seraph was written specifically for Jet Li. It was reported that Jet Li requested the same fee that Keanu Reeves was being paid to appear in the film. The part was later reworked as a female character and offered to Michelle Yeoh, who declined because of scheduling conflicts.

It took Carrie-Anne Moss six months to perfect the Scorpion Kick in the opening sequence.

The special effects carried a price tag of US$100 million.

Gloria Foster (the Oracle) died before filming on the second Matrix film had concluded. She had completed most of her scenes for that film, but had none for the third film, The Matrix Revolutions (2003), nor for Enter the Matrix (2003). Mary Alice was selected as her replacement.

Only a handful of the Smith clones were actually portrayed by Hugo Weaving. Open casting calls sought men with similar body types, and Weaving's head was later composited onto those performers.

It was reported that Keanu Reeves agreed to forgo his entitlement to a slice of box-office receipts amounting to around $38 million, after producers feared the film might never recoup its special-effects costs.

Laurence Fishburne, Jada Pinkett Smith and Anthony Brandon Wong all agreed to appear in the film without first reading the script.

The Wachowskis' contract for making The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) contained a provision stating that they would not be required to give any press interviews.

Grossing in excess of $735 million worldwide, the film was, at the time, the most commercially successful R-rated film in history. (That said, in some countries it was given a less stringent, PG-13-equivalent rating.) In North America it surpassed the nineteen-year record-holder Beverly Hills Cop (1984) as the highest-grossing R-rated release, though it was itself overtaken by The Passion of the Christ (2004) in under a year.

The vessel referred to as the Hammer is labelled (and in fact named) Mjolnir — a somewhat tricky name to pronounce. That explains why no-one uses its proper name. Mjolnir is the name of the famous hammer wielded by Thor, the Norse god of thunder.

Several injuries occurred on set: Carrie-Anne Moss broke her leg while practising a wire stunt, Laurence Fishburne fractured an arm in a separate training mishap, and Hugo Weaving suffered a slipped disc in his neck after being pulled back on a wire.

Samsung manufactured 10,000 mobile phones similar to the one featured in the film (model SPH-N270); they sold out swiftly.

Carrie-Anne Moss did some of her own motorbike riding during the motorway sequence.

The Zion rave featured more than 1,000 extras.

The Keymaker, whilst explaining how Neo will reach the Architect, states they must knock out 27 blocks of power and that they will have exactly 314 seconds before the power begins to reroute. In the Bible, the 27th book of the New Testament (Revelation), chapter 3, verse 14, speaks of bearing witness to the source of creation, which in the Matrix is the Architect.

During the 'Burly Brawl' sequence, Neo eventually takes on more than eighty Agent Smiths.

The idea that all programmes originate from the Source — an entity of pure light — and return there once they have served their purpose is a concept drawn from the Hindu belief in Brahma. In Hindu mythology, Brahma is a god composed of pure life energy who created all things, and it is humanity's destiny to return to Brahmand once their purpose has been fulfilled.

Laurence Fishburne suggested his character remove his sunglasses for the fight with the agent aboard the articulated lorry, as a visual reminder of Morpheus's confrontation with Agent Smith in The Matrix (1999) (during which he wears no sunglasses) and to better convey his character's vulnerability.

The morphing effect applied to the twins drew its inspiration from jellyfish.

During Neo's meeting with the Architect, if you have subtitles enabled, you can see Neo's alter egos displayed on the screens shouting the following lines: "You can't control me!" "I'm going to smash you to bits!" "I'm going to fucking kill you!" "You can't make me do anything you old white prick!"

A 1.4-mile, three-lane loop road was purpose-built for the chase sequence at the decommissioned Alameda Point naval base; it was demolished once filming had finished.

Within the franchise, the film The Matrix Reloaded has achieved the highest box-office takings.

According to Total Film, The Matrix Reloaded features what the magazine described as 'the worst line ever delivered in a mainstream Hollywood film.' The line in question reads: 'Your life is the sum of a remainder of an unbalanced equation inherent to the programming of The Matrix.'

On the Team Deakins podcast in the summer of 2020, the director of photography for The Matrix trilogy characterised his experience working on the sequels as negative, saying: "Everything that was good about the first experience was not good about the last two. We weren't free anymore. People were looking at you. There was a lot of pressure. In my heart, I didn't like them. I felt we should be going in another direction. There was a lot of friction and a lot of personal problems, and it showed up on screen to be honest with you. It was not my most elevated moment, nor was it anyone else's. The Wachowskis had read this damn book by Stanley Kubrick that said, 'Actors don't do natural performances until you wear them out.' So let's go to take 90! I want to dig Stanley Kubrick up and kill him."

To prepare for his part in the franchise, Keanu Reeves was asked to read three books: Simulation and Simulacra, Out of Control and Evolution Psychology. The hollowed-out volume in which Neo, prior to entering the Matrix, concealed his hacked programmes was a copy of Simulation and Simulacra.

During Neo's clash with the Smith clones (The Burly Brawl), unconventional sound effects were employed. When Neo is kicked, sails through and topples the group of Smiths, the sound of falling dominoes was used. At the end of the fight, when Neo flings Smith by the leg into his clones, the sound of a bowling ball striking the pins was incorporated.

The monitors in the Architect's chamber are identical to those seen in The Matrix (1999), when the agents apprehend Neo for interrogation and implant a bug in him.

The red chair Morpheus occupies whilst setting out his plan to gain access to the Source is identical to the red chair he occupied when he presented Neo with the choice of a red or blue pill in The Matrix (1999), and when he outlined to Neo what the Matrix actually was.

With each instalment, the key of the opening theme you hear at the start of every Matrix film (stirring strings and brass fanfares) rises. The Matrix (1999) opens in E minor, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) climbs by a whole tone to F-sharp minor, and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) moves up a semitone to G minor.

When Neo confronts the Architect, the Architect tells him "(the perfect Matrix's) doom is apparent to me now as a consequence of the imperfection inherent in every human being." As those two lines are delivered, the monitors display images including Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Adolf Hitler, the detonation of a nuclear bomb, Saddam Hussein, George W. Bush, and the United States Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld.

Martial-arts training for the principal cast commenced in November 2000 and continued for eight months.

Marcus Chong was due to reprise his role as Tank from the original film, but after a bitter falling-out with the Wachowskis and the studio his part was cut and the character was killed off-screen. Officially, the studio said pay talks had collapsed (he was offered $250,000 to appear in both sequels — five times what he received for the original, but he asked for $1 million). Chong, however, sued the company for failing to honour a verbal promise and a written agreement for the sequels. He later claimed that the Wachowskis tried to smear him with deliberately false statements, which led to him being blacklisted in Hollywood. The studio countered that Chong had been arrested for making threats against the directors after negotiations broke down. In 2018 Chong released a documentary on YouTube titled 'The Marcus Chong Story', in which he made further accusations against the studio (for example, that they withheld royalties, forced him to sign a fake contract and tried to silence him) and against former colleagues from the film.

Originally, the intention was to release this film and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) only a few weeks apart, rather than months.

The Matrix Reloaded (2003) promotional material was so sought after that distributors became extremely concerned it might be stolen. To prevent this, standees and banners were dispatched under the code names 'Caddyshack 2' and 'The Replacements'. Several cinemas assumed they hadn't received the items because of those names and therefore did not put them on display until the last minute.

In its original cinema release of The Matrix Reloaded (2003), many of the signs during the motorway chase displayed eight-character hexadecimal codes instead of their actual messages; later cinema prints and the home-video editions showed the proper wording. Those hex codes functioned as cheat codes for the tie-in game Enter the Matrix. In that title there is a hacking mini-game where the codes are entered together with the "cheat" command to enable the cheats.

The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and this film were filmed consecutively.

The Merovingians formed the earliest royal dynasty of France and were traditionally reputed to be descendants of Jesus Christ. The name is also used for a particular type of Gnostic church (many elements of Gnosticism feature in the Matrix films).

Whilst Trinity hacks into the Power Station's computer, the password she inputs is Z1ON0101.

Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski were approached to direct Batman Begins (2005), but declined in favour of working on the sequels to The Matrix.

The Wachowskis chose Monica Bellucci to portray Persephone after viewing her performance in Malena (2000).

Zion's fleet comprises twelve hoverships, ten of which are either shown or referred to in the films and the video game, Enter the Matrix (2003). Their names and captains are: Osiris — Thadeus; Logos — Niobe; Nebuchadnezzar (Neb) — Morpheus; Mjolnir (Hammer) — Roland; Caduceus — Ballard; Gnosis — Ice; Vigilant — Soren; Icarus — Ajax; Brahma — Kali; Novalis — Tirant. Concept art reveals the names of the remaining two ships: the Ganesha and the Vishnu.

Eva Mendes, Samantha Mumba, Brandy Norwood and Tatyana Ali were all rumoured as potential replacements for the role of Zee after the original choice, Aaliyah, died in a plane crash on 25 August 2001. The part was ultimately awarded to Nona Gaye (the daughter of the late Motown legend Marvin Gaye).

According to Oakland city officials who liaised with the filmmakers on the city-centre scenes in Oakland, all red and blue colours had to be eliminated, so pavement kerbs were painted over. In addition, no greenery or other plant life was allowed, so filming was carried out in the winter, before trees put out their leaves in the spring.

The two films underwent a year of pre-production, endured a year of principal photography, and then each spent a further year in post-production.

The Burly Brawl sequence in The Matrix Reloaded comprises four computer-animated segments.

The end credits feature 1,943 names.

According to a DVD special feature for The Matrix Reloaded (2003), all the lines the monitors directed at Neo include "You can't control me!", "I can say whatever I want!", "FUCKING DICK!", "I'll smash you to fucking bits!", "I'll fucking kill you!", "You old, white, prick!", "You can't make me do that!", "FUCK YOU!", et cetera. This therefore results in the film containing 5 instances of the f-word, including one said in French.

Jada Pinkett Smith was nine months pregnant when her agent phoned to tell her she was being considered for a role in the films.

In an interview, Helmut Bakaitis revealed that he drew inspiration for the Architect's voice from Orson Welles.

The film was entered in The Guinness Book of World Records as 'The Widest Film Print Run', signifying that 8,517 copies were distributed simultaneously.

The film was initially prohibited in Egypt owing to its religious themes, but was subsequently cleared for release after approval by the censorship board.

The sweeping camera pan across Megacity that kicks off the motorway chase took over a year to complete, as virtually every element, apart from the motorway itself, had to be produced using computer-generated imagery.

When Neo and Smith first encounter each other, a patch of white graffiti can be seen on the fence behind them. The graffiti is written in runes and reads "thew" (thorn, eoh, wynn). "Thew" is an Old English term meaning 'servant' or 'slave'. This ties in with the film's themes.

Monica Bellucci and Keanu Reeves had earlier appeared together in Dracula (1992).

The character commonly referred to as "The Kid" is actually named Michael Karl Popper, as revealed in the The Animatrix (2003). Karl Popper was a prominent twentieth-century philosopher, particularly noted for his work on the nature of free will and the relationship of mind and choice to the physical realms.

The articulated lorry used in the motorway chase sequence has 'Big Endian Eggs' written on its side. This is a reference to Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels: the Lilliputians, being very small, had proportionately small political problems. The Big-Endian and Little-Endian factions argued over whether soft-boiled eggs should be opened at the big end or the little end; 'big-endian' has also been adopted in computing terminology.

Bill Pope: The director of photography briefly appears as a security guard who is paid to count sheep.

When Neo and Smith first meet face-to-face, a lighting panel is clearly and visibly reflected in Smith's glasses. Notably, this is the only time this happens in the film, despite so many characters wearing sunglasses throughout the trilogy.

The film references two motorways — the 101 and the 303. Those same numbers also designate Neo's apartment and the Heart o' the City hotel room, respectively, in The Matrix (1999).

Persephone's sidearm is a COP .357. The identical model is also carried by the Replicant Leon Kowalski (Brion James) in Blade Runner (1982).

The production spent sixty days in San Francisco; forty-eight of those were devoted exclusively to filming the motorway sequence.

Gina Torres portrays Cas, the widow of Dozer (Anthony Ray Parker), who was one of the crew serving under Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) in The Matrix (1999). Torres and Fishburne were married at the time the film was shot.

The Merovingian's garage houses eighteen Cadillacs from various eras. They were procured via the Cadillac Association of New South Wales — because Australia is a right-hand-drive country, fake steering wheels were fitted to most of the cars and the original steering wheels were concealed.

During the "Burly Brawl" scene (Neo vs. several dozen Agent Smiths), the live-action sequences were filmed in eighteen-second intervals to allow for changes of camera angle and to capture the over 250 moves Neo had to perform. Some portions of the fight were so intricate they were entirely generated digitally using computer models of Neo and the Smith clones; for these the visual effects team scanned the likenesses of Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving with Sony HDR-900 High Definition cameras. A number of those shots drew criticism for appearing noticeably artificial, but fans have offered an in-universe explanation: because both Neo and the Smith clones are extremely powerful programmes executing highly complex movements, their code may occupy so much virtual data space that even the Matrix programme cannot render them realistically — similar to how video games can stutter when the graphical demand exceeds a console's processor. The theory is not implausible, as in The Matrix (1999) it was shown that the Matrix can visibly glitch when its programme is altered while running.

Jada Pinkett Smith had earlier auditioned for the part of Trinity in The Matrix (1999).

The tie-in video game Enter the Matrix features a live-action sequence mirroring the one in The Matrix Reloaded, in which Monica Bellucci's Persephone agrees to help only after a passionate kiss; however, the recipient is not Neo but Niobe, played by Jada Pinkett Smith. As in the film, it takes two attempts before Persephone is satisfied.

At the beginning of the film, the captains discuss the final transmissions from the Osiris. The short animated film The Animatrix: Final Flight of the Osiris (2003) (part of The Animatrix (2003)) acts as a prequel to The Matrix Reloaded (2003), showing how the crew of the Osiris were able to warn the other Zion vessels of an army of Sentinels tunnelling towards Zion, which are due to arrive in 72 hours.

During the car-chase sequence, just before they merge onto the motorway, the word 'steak' appears on a building in the background. 'Steak' was the password revealed during the end credits of the first film.

Numerous references are made to the number 101.

Because the twins' Cadillac Escalade EXT wasn't in production at the time of filming, General Motors had to assemble the black truck used in the motorway chase by grafting fibreglass Cadillac components onto prototype Chevrolet Avalanche pickup trucks. The Lincoln Continental from The Matrix (1999) makes a brief cameo towards the start of the film. The underground garage where the characters pick a car is almost entirely populated with Cadillacs. The row nearest the door contains, in age order: a '37 Model 60 V8; then two '57 Eldorado Biarritz models — a black hardtop and a silver convertible; a '63 Eldorado; a '66 Eldorado (the '63 and '66 Eldorados are convertibles only — there were no hardtops); '69 and '71 Eldorado convertibles; the aforementioned EXT; and a pre-production 2004 XLR. The second row, in sequence, includes a 1933 LaSalle Model 345C, identifiable from a shot in the fight scene in the first row. The remaining cars in the second row are harder to make out: there are three DeVilles — definitely a '70 and a '76 and possibly a '73 — an '81–'84 Sedan DeVille or Fleetwood, and possibly a late 1990s Catera.

For his portrayal of the Merovingian, Lambert Wilson markedly exaggerated his French accent, despite his natural speech tending more towards an American accent with some French inflections, a consequence of being brought up bilingual in English and French.

The script for the film, during production, carried the code name "The Burly Man". "The Burly Man" is the title of the screenplay Barton Fink is shown working on in the film Barton Fink (1991). While filming the freeway sequence, the directors reviewed the rushes in a vehicle the crew referred to as the "Burly Van".

During the motorway chase, the police radio dispatcher transmits '1-Adam-12, please respond.' (at roughly the one-minute mark). That was the call sign of the patrol car in the television series Adam-12 (1968).

Commander Lock is the only rebel who is given a first name in the real world, although one might reasonably assume that Thomas Anderson is Neo's actual name.

The book Persephone uses to prise open the bookcase is Arthur Schopenhauer's 'Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung'. Immediately to its left is 'Parerga and Paralipomena', also by Schopenhauer.

The switchblade-style weapons the Twins use are actually old-fashioned straight razors used for shaving.

Lara Dutta was offered a part in this film, as well as in The Matrix Revolutions (2003), but she declined the part because she did not like the script.

The writing implement in the Architect's hand is a Lamy Swift rollerball pen.

The film playing in the background that the henchmen are watching is The Brides of Dracula (1960). Monica Bellucci portrayed one of Dracula's brides in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).

The marble floors and columns, along with many other surfaces that merely looked like costly textured finishes, were actually printed on "grand format" printers and treated with a scuff- and UV-resistant coating. Several back-lit surfaces (for example the "amber" elements in the Merovengian's restaurant) were likewise printed, but on a translucent material.

The junction sign listing Whipple Ave., Woodside Rd. and Marsh Rd. seen during the motorway chase is the same sign you would encounter on the real U.S. Highway 101 if you had just left the headquarters of Oracle Corporation and were travelling south along U.S. Highway 101.

The modeller of the Nebuchadnezzar carved his initials into the stern details of the ship. They’re difficult to make out, but as the vessel pulls into Zion’s docking bay the stern fills the frame. Look to the top-left corner for a stylised JHD and to the top-right for its mirrored counterpart.

The Merovingian takes his name from the dynasty that ruled the Franks in the southern and central parts of what are now France and Germany for roughly three centuries, from 486 to 751. The name literally means 'sons of Merovech'; Merovech was the founder of that dynasty. According to legend, they were said to descend from a child that Jesus of Nazareth was purported to have fathered with Mary Magdalene, who is said to have fled to France after the Crucifixion. Merovingian kings are credited with halting Islamic advances into their territories in central and eastern Europe. The dynasty was brought to an end by the Pope, who ordered their ruler deposed and replaced by a sovereign from a different line.

The motorway in Akron, Ohio was the production team's first choice for the chase sequence, but the team chose not to film there because the road was snow-covered and the conditions were bitterly cold.

The Burly Brawl runs for 9 minutes on-screen, and its post-production took three-and-a-half years.

Professional taekwondo instructors were brought in to carry out certain stunts, including Master Timothy Connelly, a silver medallist of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF).

The best-selling 1965 science fiction-fantasy novel "Dune" by Frank Herbert is often cited as an influence on The Matrix films. The Matrix films are set in a post-apocalyptic future where rebels fight against machines that have enslaved humanity by plugging people into the Matrix; Neo is The One, the messiah who, according to prophecy, will end the war between humans and machines, liberate the human race and destroy the Matrix. Neo also has recurring visions foreseeing Trinity's death. In "Dune", Paul Atreides leads the Fremen in rebellion against Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen and is revealed as the Kwisatz Haderach, the universe's supreme being who, according to a Fremen prophecy, will free Arrakis from the Empire. In the novel Paul experiences visions, and the backstory of the "Dune" universe describes a period when machines once ruled until humans overthrew them in a great revolt.

Over the course of filming The Matrix Reloaded (2003), the hair and make-up department used 84 bottles of hair gel.

At Neo's first encounter with the Oracle in the city park, she offers him a red liquorice sweet. After a brief hesitation Neo accepts, and the Oracle breaks off a piece of her own red sweet and eats it. If you watch closely, for a few frames you can spot a small red capsule in her hand as she brings it to her mouth.

The film's codename, "The Burly Man", was the name of the initial screenplay the Wachowskis devised for Four Corners Productions.

Harry Lennix and Laurence Fishburne were due to appear in Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), with Lennix cast as General Swanwick and Fishburne portraying Perry White.

The Matrix Reloaded (2003) marked the final film appearance of Gloria Foster.

Most of the production was filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia; however, the motorway chase and the 'Burly Brawl' sequence were filmed in California.

Although the picture was shot on Super 35, the closing credits list "Filmed in Panavision".

At the start of The Matrix Reloaded (2003), during the fight with three agents, Neo boots one of them into a lamppost made by Darrow Industries — a nod to the Matrix films' conceptual designer, Geofrey Darrow.

Seraph declares that his role is to protect what matters most. His character can be read as a metaphor for computer firewalls, suggested by his name — Seraph, a shortened form of seraphim, a class of fiery or ardent angels. This fits the franchise’s religious-techno allegory and also aligns with the Alice in Wonderland motif: before she meets the Caterpillar (the Oracle), the creatures in Wonderland gape at Alice because of her enormous size and pelt her with cakes to drive her off, much like Seraph fighting Neo to keep him at bay.

Monica Bellucci later appeared in Spectre (2015), in which she had a brief part as Lucia, the widow of criminal Marco Sciarra, who was a member of the SPECTRE organisation. Persephone (Bellucci) is married to the Merovingian — a programme residing in the Matrix as the head of a powerful crime syndicate — and she willingly betrays the Merovingian to help Neo, Morpheus and Trinity reach the Keymaker.

Da Brat auditioned for the role of Zee.

During the motorway chase one of the exits serves Paterson Pass — a road running between Livermore and Tracy, California, situated to the east of the Alameda freeway production site; the slip road connects onto Interstate 5. The detail was a nod to production designer Owen Paterson.

Michelle Yeoh was offered the role of the Seraph, but she declined it owing to scheduling conflicts.

The bonus features on the home-video release include footage of Keanu Reeves and the directors working through his replies to the Architect; those lines can be seen on the background monitors during that scene. One of the takes is a thirty-second tirade so profane that it is largely obscured by censor bleeps.

The track 'Mona Lisa Overdrive' by Juno Reactor appears on the film's soundtrack. The same title is used for a novel by William Gibson, which came after his earlier book 'Neuromancer'. Gibson's work was a significant influence on the concept of The Matrix. He also wrote the story 'Johnny Mnemonic', which was turned into a film that starred Keanu Reeves.

The effects team organised "try-outs" where other effects houses could showcase any new tech that might be useful for filming, particularly the motorway chase. As with the previous instalment, the Wachowskis had a clear vision of how the sequence should look, but the tools to shoot it didn't necessarily exist.

Rob Dougan composed his portion of the soundtrack, "Chateau", at his home in London without access to a video-editing suite. To check that the music synchronised with the temp version of the scene, he would start the track on his laptop and at the same moment press "play" on his DVD player with his foot. Once the piece was written, the instrumental parts had to be recorded in Los Angeles by the film's orchestra. Lacking contacts in the city, and not wanting franchise composer Don Davis' style to dominate the piece, Dougan ultimately persuaded the directors to let an acquaintance of a friend orchestrate and conduct the performance.

Genevieve O'Reilly made her film debut.

For the motorway chase scene, Carrie-Anne Moss was required to carry out a stunt while driving a modified Cadillac in which she braked into a "sliding 90", sending the car sideways straight towards the camera. To achieve this she used a manoeuvre known as the Juicy Lift — a complex move she learnt at stunt-driving school that involves yanking the handbrake and turning the steering wheel just so. She nailed it in a single take.

In the motorway sequence with the city skyline behind the action and the carriageway in the foreground, a sign lists Whipple Avenue, Woodside Road and Marsh Road as exits. Although most of the motorway and the filming were carried out in Oakland and Alameda, those exits actually correspond to the ones leading into Redwood City from Highway 101, across the Bay from the filming locations. The exits appear in exactly the same order as on Highway 101 and lead to, or pass close to, Oracle's headquarters. Whipple is the exit for Redwood Shores and Redwood City closest to San Carlos, while Marsh Road is the exit to the same towns that is nearest to Atherton, right on the border between Redwood City and North Fair Oaks.

Held the title of the highest-grossing R-rated film worldwide until it was overtaken by Deadpool (2016).

The third sequel ever to surpass $700 million worldwide at the box office, following Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002).

According to reports, Keanu Reeves is said to have earned US$156 million from the first two Matrix sequels — The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).

After the rolling end credits, a short teaser for the franchise's next film, "The Matrix Revolutions", is screened.

It was the fourth R-rated film ever to have grossed more than $200 million at the US box office, following Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

Once adjusted for inflation, this ranks as the third-highest grossing R-rated action film on the domestic box-office, behind Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).

It earned $92 million domestically in its opening weekend, ranking at the time as the second-largest opening-weekend box office in history — behind Spider-Man (2002), which took $115 million. It was also the biggest opening weekend ever for an R-rated film, topping Hannibal (2001) with $58 million, a record that stood for over a decade until it was finally overtaken by Deadpool (2016), which grossed $132 million.