This relative timeline of The Matrix franchise includes the stories of the films, the video games, The Animatrix short films and The Matrix Comics. Many of these run parallel to one another while some are difficult to place (though most can be assumed to take place before the Truce). Others, such as The Miller's Tale, are stories set within stories. But a general relative timeline follows:
Origins[]
The Second Renaissance and Machine War[]
Events covered: Second Renaissance, Machine War, Operation Dark Storm
- The Second Renaissance
- Bits and Pieces of Information (which tells the same story as an early part of The Second Renaissance)
Early Sixth Zion[]
- The Miller's Tale (told as a story heard by a young Morpheus years later)
The Matrix Trilogy[]
Believed by the Resistance to be around 2199 but is in fact perhaps 500 years later.
Events covered: Crisis Meeting, Reload, The Freeway Chase
- The Man Who Knew Too Much[1]
- A Detective Story[2]
- The Matrix
- Kid's Story
- Day In... Day Out[3]
- Final Flight of the Osiris
- Enter the Matrix (follows on from Final Flight of the Osiris and continues parallel to Reloaded)
- The Matrix Reloaded
- The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix: Path of Neo runs parallel to the events of the films (beginning with Morpheus offering Neo the choice), filling in some details between them, and features an alternative ending.
Post Trilogy[]
Truce[]
Events covered: Truce
Post-truce[]
Events covered: Second Machine War
The Matrix Resurrections[]
Unknown[]
Many other Animatrix films and Matrix Comics can't be placed definitely in the series' chronology, though some make reference to or feature specific characters and most can be assumed to take place some time in the sixth Matrix and before the events of the first film:
The One[]
- The King of Never Return (mentions The One as being active, though this may not be Neo)
The Oracle and potentials[]
- Run, Saga, Run (features Spoon Boy and The Oracle in her first known shell)
- Artistic Freedom (features Spoon Boy)
- Broadcast Depth (features a crew on a mission given to them by The Oracle, though this may be in a different Matrix)
- Burning Hope (features a crew on a mission given to them by The Oracle, though this may be in a different Matrix)
- The King of Never Return (mentions The Oracle)
Morpheus and Trinity[]
- Farewell Performance (features Agents trying to find Morpheus)
- A Life Less Empty (Tiera knows of Neo and Trinity and was given the choice by Morpheus at some point before the story is narrated)
Link[]
- Wrong Number (features Link as the Operator)
Pequod[]
- There Are No Flowers in the Real World (features the Pequod coming to rescue Rocket)
- Hunters and Collectors (set the year after the destruction of the Pequod)
The Instructor[]
- World Record (the introduction is narrated by The Instructor, who also narrated The Second Renaissance)
Other (Animatrix)[]
Other (Comics)[]
- System Freeze
- Sweating the Small Stuff
- Déjà Vu
- Morning Sickness
- An Asset to the System
- Butterfly
- An Easy One
- Let It All Fall Down
- Return of the Prodigal Son
- A Sword of a Different Color
- Goliath
Outside canon[]
Two comedic webcomics by Peter Bagge set in the Matrix aren't to be taken as serious events in The Matrix universe:
See also[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Newspaper headlines have Trinity hacking the IRS D-base.
- ↑ The Matrix Universe poster puts this chronologically before The Matrix.
- ↑ Agent White says "Soon we will have the coordinates for Zion", meaning the Sentinel army hasn't yet located the city.
- ↑ Morpheus teaches Kid, which must have happened before the opening events of The Matrix Online.
- ↑ Set in February 2001 in the webcomic, and February 2002 in the printed volume, with The Matrix set in 1999 and Reloaded and Revolutions around six months after.
- ↑ Set on February 2nd 2003 according to a log in the exact same style as the 1998 and 1999 logs at the start and end of The Matrix; which implies the creators intended to set it 4 years after the events of the first film.
- ↑ New ‘Matrix Resurrections’ Images Confirm Jonathan Groff’s Character