The Mexico City-born actress will join original stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in their iconic roles of Neo and Trinity. Ibarra will play Lexy, an ally of a friend of Neo, the central character of the movie series. 

Lexy is one of various new characters introduced in the new film and apparently important enough to get her own poster, which Ibarra shared on her social media. “My heart is exploding with joy and gratitud [sic] !!! I am so happy and blessed to introduce you all to LEXY. One of the most challenging and beautiful characters I have had the opportunity to live in,” posted the actress on her Instagram page along with the purple affiche. She’s shown blazing guns in dark clothes and thigh-high boots and sporting short braided hair.

Starting with The Matrix in 1999, the franchise is about a dystopian future in which humanity lives in a simulated reality created by artificially intelligent machines that use men’s and women’s bodies as power sources. Neo is awakened from the virtual world and joins a rebellion against the machines. The sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions came out in the same year, in 2003. Together, the three films made over 1.5 billion dollars, one of the most profitable franchises in movie history. 

The new film is set nearly two decades after events at the end of the third movie. While little has been revealed of The Matrix Resurrections’ plot, the movie’s trailer features an older Neo living what appears to be an ordinary life as Thomas A. Anderson in San Francisco. A therapist prescribes Neo blue pills. Neo and Trinity cross paths but don’t recognize each other. Later Neo is offered red pills that could reconnect him to the Matrix.

The Matrix Resurrections is produced, co-written and directed by Lana Wachowski, who co-directed all prequels with her sister Lilly Wachowski (she is credited as a writer in the latest installment). 

Ibarra’s road to The Matrix franchise was paved with her role in the Netflix sci-fi series Sense8, also created and directed by the Wachowski sisters. The Mexican actress played Daniela Velázquez, a recurring character from Mexico in the show that presented a multinational cast portraying eight individuals who discover a common mental and emotional connection. 

Ibarra is not the only new face in the upcoming sequel. New actors joining the cast include Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (the Aquaman franchise), Jessica Henwick (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens), Neil Patrick Harris (Gone Girl), Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico) and Christina Ricci (The Lizzie Borden Chronicles).

Along with Reeves and Moss, another returning actor is Jada Pinkett Smith (Gotham) who reprises her role as Niobe.

A known actress in her native Mexico for several series, Ibarra’s credits include the 2015 Las Aparicio and the 2017 Ingobernable. 

The Matrix Resurrections will premiere both in theaters nationwide and on HBO Max Dec. 22.

Featured photo: Eréndira Ibarra as Lexy in ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ poster (Credit: Warner Bros.)

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