How many Matrix movies are there? Discover the movies from which the metaphor originated.

Thinking about the Matrix movies takes us back to the early 2000s – the introduction of gravity-defying moves, the red pill-blue pill metaphor, leather-clad kung fu fighters and more in the “ground-breaking franchise that redefined a genre,” according to whatisthematrix.com.

While the action sequences prove futuristic, the original plot interpreting the ultimate fall of humanity at the hands of technology was eerily perceptive for a film series developed more than 20 years ago.

Created by the Wachowskis, the mind-bending, cyberpunk films carry their influence on pop culture and modern cinema even today.

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How many Matrix movies are there?

Starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne, the Matrix franchise consists of four main feature films.

Released in 1999, “The Matrix” marked the beginning of the Matrix film series. It won four Academy Awards including Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects at the 72nd Academy Awards in 2000.

Following that success, the sequel, “The Matrix Reloaded,” was released in May 2003. In November of the same year, the third installment, “The Matrix Revolutions,” was released.

The fourth and final film, “The Matrix Resurrections,” directed by one of the Wachowski sisters, Lana, was released toward the end of 2021.

In addition to the films, the Matrix franchise includes an animated series of nine short stories that occur at various points in the Matrix timeline. The series, titled "The Animatrix," was released in June 2003.

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Will there be a Matrix 5?

In an interview with Collider, one of the producers of "The Matrix Resurrections," James McTeigue said there are no plans for a fifth installment.

“Look, for us, I think, at the moment, it's just the movie you've seen. We've got no prequel in mind. We've got no sequel in mind. We've got no further trilogy,” McTeigue said.

He added the last film’s ending was “really open to audience’s interpretation” and a sequel isn’t in the filmmakers’ “wheelhouse at the moment.”

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Why did Matrix 2 and 3 release in the same year?

The Wachowskis envisioned the Matrix storyline as a trilogy since the very beginning. "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" were filmed simultaneously, according to Rotten Tomatoes, but released six months apart in 2003. The whole project was shot under the code name “The Burly Man” in Sydney, Australia.

Is Matrix 4 a sequel or reboot?

While "The Matrix Resurrections" is the fourth installment in the Matrix movies, the film can be watched as a stand-alone. One of the film’s screenwriters, David Mitchell, shared with Marca, a Spanish newspaper: “It's not just another sequel, but something self-contained that nevertheless contains the three Matrixes that precede it in a tremendously ingenious way.”

"The Matrix Resurrections" is set 60 years after the climax in the third film and follows the journey of "resurrected" Neo and Trinity.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How many Matrix movies are there? How to watch in order of release.