After Laurence Fishburne ( who later played the role of Morpheus) read the script, he had a doubt if the movie would ever be made, because it was "so smart".

There are sci-fi movies, and then there is "The Matrix".

Released 20 years ago #OnThisDay

Neo works for Metacortex.

Meta-"going beyond or higher, transcending,"
cortex - "the outer layer (boundary) of gray matter surrounding the brain."

Thus, Metacortex is "transcending the boundaries of the brain," which is precisely what Neo proceeds to do in the movie.

Sets from the film Dark City (1998), including rooftops, buildings, and other exterior sets, were used in this film.

However, the screenplay of The Matrix had been written long before Dark City was released.

Will Smith was approached to play Neo, but turned down the offer in order to star in Wild Wild West. He later admitted that, at the time, he was "not mature enough as an actor"& that, if given the role,he"would have messed it up".

Can see Agent Smith referring to Neo as "Mr. Andersonnnnn" a zillion times and not get bored.

Here is the footage from the movie when Thomas Anderson begins to believe that he is NEO