The Matrix: Who Are The Twins (And Where They Came From) Explained

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Who are The Twins in The Matrix franchise, exactly? The albino, dreadheaded henchmen first appeared in 2003's The Matrix Reloaded, and fans have been pondering the answer to that in the almost two decades since. It's never been definitively explained by the Wachowskis or anyone else involved in the production, but that hasn't stopped fans from attempting to put together the pieces over the years, or more recently wondering if The Twins will make another appearance in The Matrix 4 when it arrives in theaters (and on HBO Max) in 2021.

It's understandable why audiences have been so fascinated with The Twins over the years. In a uniform world of code, they were memorable, even without much dialogue. Their albinism and pale dreads with their all-white outfits stood out against every other character dressed in black on black. Their unique skills made them almost as powerful as Neo. It set them apart as elite trackers, the Merovingian retaining them as his own personal muscle and special forces. The Twins had the power of intangibility, being able to phase in and out of a corporeal state. This gave them the ability to phase through floors and walls, allow bullets to pass directly through their intangible bodies, and to immediately heal any injuries and damage sustained while in corporeal form – in essence, they could "reset" themselves to a perfectly intact state. This made them formidable enemies, and it's no wonder fans have wondered about their origin for years. There are two main theories.

The first theory is The Twins were once Agents themselves. It's known they are "Exiles" - rogue programs cast off from the mainframe. But this theory posits they were previously Agents from a much older, now defunct version of The Matrix, and they eventually went rogue and were thus cast out. There is some sense to this theory. After all, the Agents require uniformity and while the Merovingian maintains a sort of order, it's the order of a crime boss and information broker building a network of outcast, exiled programs, anathema to what the Agents are. It's possible The Twins either aligned with the Merovingian when their beliefs started to diverge from the other Agents and they went rogue, or that they were cast out before meeting the Merovingian and ended up with him as he's the Matrix's protector of exiled programs.

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The second theory is they were older Agents who had once been infected with a computer virus in The Architect's Matrix that the Merovingian removed, restoring them. It's possible they were exiled from the other Agents as a result of this virus, or they were changed so much after its removal they were cast out, ending up in the Merovingian's employ. Either scenario would explain their loyalty as well as their dramatically different looks, warped by a virus. It's worth noting the Merovingian believes the nature of existence in the Matrix is causality rather than choice. The Twins going rogue and seeking him out would not have fit his worldview, but them contracting a virus and ending up in his care would have.

2005's The Matrix Online video game could lend some evidence to this latter theory. With The Matrix 4 coming out, it may prove to not be canon, but TMO was meant to act as a continuation of the movie trilogy. At the end of The Matrix Reloaded, The Twins were blown up, but it was unclear whether or not they survived as they went intangible as they flew through the air. The Matrix Online, however, saw the Merovingian sending his operatives to find and retrieve the fragmented pieces of The Twins, allowing him to reforge them into fully functioning states once again. His skill with repairing the badly-damaged Twins indicates he'd had some experience with repairing them before.

The full story of The Twins may never be known, which isn't a bad thing. It's a testament to The Matrix films that fans are still guessing two decades later. Hopefully, The Matrix 4 will carry on the legacy.

The Matrix 4 (2021)
Release Date: Dec 22, 2021