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this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2024
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Whenever I think of the answer to this question, I always lament at how many film trilogies or games could have been absolutely immaculate duologies but were, for various reasons, sort of forced into a third installment through fan expectations, studio pressure, or just plain Hollywood/corporate greed.
It usually begins with a film or a video game that is an unexpected success, something that was written off by the execs that turned out to be not just a work of art, but a pop culture sensation. Star Wars, The Matrix, The Terminator, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, etc were probably never intended to have a sequel. Their original plotlines all tied up the loose ends nicely and made for a perfectly adequate self-contained story. Then the second film/game in the series comes out and it's another well received installment. Maybe it's because the second rides a bit on the coattails of the first, or maybe because the first walked so the second could run, it's hard to say, but in every case the second always sets the bar too high. The third installment is typically the one that sours the soup, so to speak. I'd wager that even a really well written story can't really live up to the expectations that fans have for the third installment of a well-beloved series. Having the perfect three-peat is a feat rarely seen accomplished, but nobody ever seems satisfied with just two good pieces of media with no plans for a third.
The Matrix is actually an interesting thing if I recall correctly.
The Wachowskis really wanted to tell a huge story, they had so many ideas and multiple sequels across many mediums.
They had funding issues, or there was little confidence the film would be a success, so the very ending of the first Matrix is just sorta tacked on.
Neo in the phone booth telling the machines he's about to change everything as he just flys away, completely breaking their reality. It's a "and they all lived happily ever after" ending.
Of course The Matrix was then hugely successful.
So now the Wachowskis get to tell the story they intend, hell they get to do pretty much whatever they want.
As a result Neo is weirdly much less of a badass (but still badass) as he sort of finds himself during the events of Matrix Reloaded.
But if course I bring this all up because the Wachowskis did get to make all the things they wanted. Reloaded & Revolutions were at least part of the story. The Animatrix and other shorts, part of the story. The multimedia continuation of the story where you could jump into a video game to see part of the story, or into a an MMO and live in the Matrix.
The Matrix was always envisioned as this huge thing. It just turned out that having the idea and executing on that idea is hard. The films didn't quite live up to expectations (still good mind you, but a step down). Part of the films "missing" with the idea that it would be something you can experience in a video game. The story continuing on in an MMO that took a while to launch and then had major issues.
Which is all to say sometimes even with good intentions and ideas, it's just difficult to get an idea perfectly onto screen.