Early Matrix Script Could Have Solved Its Most Annoying Plot Hole
However, the idea that could have drastically improved the movie had to be scrapped for a surprising reason.
The Matrix is undoubtedly one of the most massively influential films of all time, causing an immediate furor upon its release and leaving an enormous cultural impact.
While it didn't invent the term "Matrix" itself, as it was already used in several other sci-fi works, such as the 1984 novel Neuromancer by William Gibson, it certainly popularized it among the masses.
It also sparked philosophical debates with people analyzing the film's ideas to this day, and introduced some bizarrely popular concepts, such as red and blue pills.
However, like many other famous works, the story of The Chosen One is far from flawless, and even the main concept of humans being used as batteries by the machines creates several major plot holes that become obvious upon closer inspection.
But apparently the original idea behind The Matrix was much better, covering almost all such flaws, but was unfortunately scrapped for a surprising reason.
According to the early script, humans were used as living processors, with their brains connected into a neural network, and this immediately eliminated several plot holes.
First of all, the whole idea of using living creatures as an energy source is questionable at best, as they require constant nutrition to stay alive, and the amount of energy they produce in a passive state is extremely low, so this idea is completely out of the equation.
Just like the question of why use humans when a whale for example is bigger and generates more energy, as the whole thing is in the cognitive abilities.
Next, it explains why humans need to be semi-conscious instead of in a comatose state, because the machines need their brains working.
And finally, it explains one of the most controversial aspects of the movie, how humans are able to affect The Matrix at all, since they literally execute the code themselves.
Unfortunately, the idea was scrapped because the creators feared it would be too complicated for the average moviegoer, so they had to settle for a much simpler "living batteries" explanation.
Now fans can only lament how much better the movie could have been, along with several other ideas like "reality" being just another fail-safe level of the Matrix.
Source: Reddit