The Matrix 4's Zion Replacement Name Has 3 Hidden Easter Eggs
In one of the most nuanced nods to the original trilogy, The Matrix 4's Zion replacement contains three hidden Easter eggs via its layered name.
In a clever act of franchise symmetry, The Matrix 4's Zion replacement name contains three hidden Easter eggs. Returning to the world of the Matrix some 18 years after The Matrix Revolutions, Lana Wachowski's latest offering divided audiences, with The Matrix Resurrections' strong cast performances at odds with an at times jarring script. Yet, despite drawing a decidedly mixed critical reception, The Matrix Resurrections undoubtedly acts as a love letter to its franchise, with Wachowski's film littered with hidden details, Easter eggs, and callbacks to the original Matrix trilogy.
In the first three Matrix installments, the last bastion of human civilization was Zion. In real life, the original Zion was an ancient Hebraic city often used as a synonym for Jerusalem, with Neo's (Keanu Reeves) return as The One also likely a thinly veiled reference to his status as the messiah of the Matrix canon. Although Zion survives the machines' onslaught at the end of The Matrix Revolutions, it is has been replaced by the idyllic Io in The Matrix Resurrections and instead acts as a shining example of humans and machines peacefully co-existing outside of the Matrix.
In The Matrix Resurrections, Zion's replacement Io contains three scintillating Easter eggs that hark back to the original Matrix trilogy. The first is its spelling, with Io being Zion without a beginning or an end, which harks back to the Oracle's famous quote "everything that has a beginning has an end" - therefore implying that the utopian city of Io will be endless in Matrix canon. Secondly, Io is also number two in binary code (when read as 10), which represents Io being the second machine city to exist. Third and finally, Io being number two in binary represents that in The Matrix Resurrections, Neo and Trinity are both The One as a pair.
In The Matrix Revolutions, the Oracle tells Neo, "everything that has a beginning has an end." While this line is originally designed to indicate her willingness to allow the end of the Matrix's perpetual cycle at Agent Smith's (Hugo Weaving) hand, it carries greater significance when looked at through the prism of The Matrix Resurrections' plot. Io quite literally being the middle portion of the word Zion shows that as Io does not have a beginning, it will also not have an end, indicating the new human city will survive for eternity. This is particularly poignant in the context of The Matrix Resurrections' narrative and subsequent release, with many audiences believing Resurrections will be the last Matrix movie canonically.
The Easter egg layers with Io do not end there, however, with the name Io also being a nod to the code that became an iconic part of the original Matrix trilogy's image. Io, therefore, acts in binary code as a signifier for the machines' second city - as well as a glaring hint at The Matrix Resurrections' finale. Neo and Trinity represent The One as a pair (two), further reflecting Io's prescient name. The Matrix 4 may not be a perfect piece of cinema by many yardsticks, but its symmetry with previous Matrix installments nonetheless makes it a joy to behold.