Matrix Sequel Spoiler Plot Details

Details about the further adventures of Neo have been closely guarded, but we found some clues on the set in Sydney, where the cast and crew have been working since September and are expected to wrap this summer. On a remote corner of a sound stage stand dozens of latex, life-size replicas of the dastardly Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), all in single file. Why so many Smiths? Since the original film, Smith has learned to replicate himself (he's a computer virus), which means Neo will have to fight several Smiths at once.

Across the stage, in front of the cameras and under the lights, we find Reeves in his familiar uniform (long black coat, dark shades) at the bottom of a crater being drenched by a rainstorm manufactured by overhead sprinklers. Later, drying off in his trailer, Reeves won't elaborate on that particular shot (it takes place in a climactic battle scene in part three), but he does give the following overview of the trilogy: "The first one is about birth," says Reeves. "The second one is life; the third is death." Thanks, Keanu.

This much we know: in parts two and three, Neo must persuade the omnipotent machines to set his people free. The action-packed part two takes place primarily in the gleaming world of the Matrix, while the more serious-minded part three is set in the scorched real world. In the sequels, we will also visit the vast underground city of Zion, inhabited by the few hundred thousand humans who have managed to escape cyberimprisonment. Laurence Fishburne (as the sage Morpheus) and Carrie-Anne Moss (as Neo's love interest, Trinity) are also back. This time they're joined by Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe, another rebel and a former lover of Morpheus', and Nona Gaye (daughter of Marvin). Gaye stepped in to replace R.-and-B. singer Aaliyah, who had been cast in the role of Zee, a resident of Zion, before she died in a plane crash last year. Gloria Foster, who played the wise old Oracle in the original, also died in September, at age 64, after she shot her scenes for part two. What about part three? Thanks to a quick rewrite on the script, the Oracle will be back, but in a different form.