Lilly Wachowski says that the Matrix franchise, starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne, was “born out of a lot of anger and a lot of rage,” the co-writer and co-director told The Hollywood Reporter. “And it’s rage at capitalism and corporatized structure and forms of oppression.
Wachowski, who was previously known as Andy before transitioning, blamed the “bubbling, seething rage within me was about my own oppression, that I (was forcing) myself to remain in the closet.”
The 52-year-old is encouraged by the impact trilogy has had: “Now that I’m out and a living example of someone who can grow old being a trans woman, [trans people] can see those films through the lens of my transness and their transness. They’re able to go, ‘Oh my God, these films were such an important part of my coming out and my own journey.’ I’m extraordinarily grateful that I could offer that to people.”
She came out as transgender in 2016. Her sibling Lana, formerly known as Larry, came out in 2008.