The Matrix: How Many Times Zion Has Been Destroyed

In the Matrix trilogy, Neo originally sets out with the goal of protecting Zion from the Machines, but the city had already been destroyed many times before. Directed by the Wachowski siblings, the Matrix trilogy was released from 1999 to 2003 and became a pop-culture touchstone by combining cyberpunk aesthetics, distinctly choreographed fight scenes, and heady philosophy. The Matrix 4 will continue the series, although filming complications resulting from COVID-19 have pushed the release date to 2022.

The Matrix films only show the exploits of Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, and their cohorts, but some of the lore makes it clear that many of the events are reiterative, happening over and over, unbeknownst to most of humanity. Chief among these is the repeating prophecy of the One, orchestrated by the Machines and the Architect in particular to create a messianic vessel for the dissenting beliefs of the humans who have rejected the Matrix. The One, vested with this authority, is led inevitably to the Architect, where they are given the choice of saving Zion by killing the billions of people in the Matrix or saving the majority of humanity by destroying Zion and rebooting the Matrix. For Neo, this happens in The Matrix Reloaded.

The One was presented with this choice five times previously, each time deciding to destroy Zion. The city, and humanity as a whole, were then rebuilt through the selection of 23 humans meant to begin the controlled reestablishment. However, after following this Path of the One, Neo chooses instead to forgo the choice, driven by his love for Trinity to seek a different option. While this ultimately results in his death, it also brings about a truce at the conclusion of The Matrix Revolutions that ends the cycle, meaning the Zion shown in the films was not destroyed like its predecessors.

Little is known about these five past Zions, but it can be assumed that they were similar to the current Zion in many ways. Because the Machines were behind the construction and reconstruction of Zion, it was rebuilt in the same location each time. Each version was most likely equipped with the same level of technology as well because, despite the fact that hundreds of years have passed, humanity still believes it to be the time of the first Zion, relatively soon after the war, around 2199.

Much like their use of humans as organic batteries, the Machines’ plan for Zion fundamentally involves devaluing individual human lives in favor of a bigger picture. But the resulting iterations of Zion and the Matrix inadvertently bring a collection of humans together, particularly Trinity, that motivates Neo to find another way. Zion had been destroyed several times already – but this specific, unique population living there at the time, including (especially) Trinity, caused Neo to make a different choice.. And that reasoning seems at home in a series like The Matrix that so concerns itself with preserving humanity in the face of the dehumanizing.