Lilly Wachowski, co-director of ‘The Matrix’ film series with her sister Lana, has said that she was glad that viewers are talking about the movie’s narrative involving trans identity. In an interview with OTT platform Netflix, Wachowski said that viewing it as a transgender allegory was the film’s ‘original intention’.

“I am glad that it has gotten out that that was the original intention. But the world wasn’t quite ready for it, the corporate world wasn’t ready for it,” Wachowski said in the interview. 

“I love how meaningful those films are to trans people and the way they come up to me and say, ‘These movies saved my life’,” she added.

Lilly and Lana Wachowski both came out as trans women in 2016 and 2012 respectively. Fans have since theorised that The Matrix films are actually an allegory of trans identity.

“The Matrix … was all about the desire for transformation, but it was all coming from a closeted point of view,” Lilly said further in the interview.

“I don’t know how present my transness was in the background of my brain as we were writing it… We were always living in a world of imagination. That’s why I gravitated toward sci-fi and fantasy and played Dungeons and Dragons. It was all about creating worlds. It freed us up as filmmakers because we were able to imagine stuff at that time that you didn’t necessarily see onscreen,” she added.

‘The Matrix’ franchise has three films on its plate, which star Keanu Reeves in the main role. The fourth film of the franchise is currently being made by Lana Wachowski, starring Keanu with Carrie-Anne Moss and Jada Pinkett Smith in lead roles. It is due for release in 2022.