Matrix Resurrections Debunked A Huge Oracle Theory - But Did Something Better
Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Matrix Resurrections.
There was a lot of speculation surrounding the Oracle ahead of The Matrix Resurrections’ release and, while one of the biggest Oracle theories was debunked, the film went on to do something much better than anything previously envisioned. The Matrix Resurrections reentered the Matrix, bringing back Neo and Trinity alongside new and familiar faces.
In The Matrix Resurrections, 60 years have passed since the end of The Matrix Revolutions and the changes that have been made within the Wachowskis’ universe are substantial. One character who reappears from the original trilogy is Sati, now an adult played by Priyanka Chopra. As a child, the Oracle saw great potential in Sati, a program without a purpose. She believed Sati would play a crucial role in the future — in both the human and simulated worlds. Sati’s closeness with the Oracle, as well as the destiny she was being set up to fulfill, suggested she would play a pivotal role in The Matrix Resurrections. The next step would be for Sati to take up the role of Oracle and follow in her footsteps, and theories speculated that would be the case since it was laid out as such.
However, the fourth installment went in a different direction entirely. Her role as a purposeless program may have confused the Machines, but it put Sati in a unique position and The Matrix Resurrections played into that instead of repeating old storylines with a different character. The Oracle storyline was played out already and Sati's new story offered a lot more for her as an individual character. Having her watch over Neo for years in the Matrix while guarding the blueprints for the building where Trinity was being held allowed her to be an active participant in Neo’s journey and in liberating the Matrix from the Analyst’s control. What’s more, The Matrix Resurrections further explored who Sati was as a person, what she felt about the situation, and her thought process regarding why she kept the truth of Neo and Trinity being alive from Niobe.
Going in a whole new direction for Sati gave her a lot more agency than in simply taking on the role of a previous character. Not having her become the Oracle made her a more dynamic person while still linking her to the overall plot of the film. How The Matrix Resurrections chose to handle Sati’s storyline and role in the film’s plot turned out better than having her take up the role of the Oracle because it gave Sati more depth; it also made her journey less predictable. As the Oracle, Sati likely would not have been the link between the simulated and real worlds. By heading the rescue plan to save Trinity, Sati proved to be an important ally, ultimately fulfilling the destiny the Oracle foretold. She watched over things with a diligent eye, including Niobe’s building of IO, a city that exists thanks to free humans and Machines working together.
The Matrix movies have always attempted to move forward without regurgitating the same storylines over again; they subverted expectations. Sati didn’t have to become the Oracle in The Matrix Resurrections just because she was previously protected by her. Letting her transform into her own person without relying on the idea of succession made more sense for Sati’s personal development. She was central to the fourth sequel in a way that worked and didn’t create comparisons between Sati and the Oracle simply because they were never the same person. The Matrix Resurrections is all the better for it.