The Matrix is widely considered a beloved film franchise with far more hits than misses. The series features a bevy of intriguing characters, some of whom are around for the long haul and others who seem to up and vanish without a trace. For every core character who returns for multiple installments, there is at least one supporting player who unceremoniously vanishes after serving their primary objective(s). That’s sometimes a natural progression for a storied franchise full of memorable characters. However, that does little to keep us from wondering what happened to some of those characters and why we never heard from them again.

Thinking back on this epic film franchise has us eager to look back on some of the characters who didn’t stick around as long as we wish they had. Keep reading for five characters from The Matrix movies that vanished without a trace.

1) Tank

Tank (Marcus Chong) is a pivotal character in the first series installment, and he deserves much better than he got. The character doesn’t even receive a proper send-off, not by a long shot. Tank dies (offscreen) at some point between films. After surviving the first, he is conspicuously absent from the second. The muscle-bound character serves as the operator of the Nebuchadnezzar, the hovercraft base station that also serves as an access point to the Matrix for the team of rebels at the picture’s core. He is integral to the team and most agree that he deserves a more intentional ending than what he gets.

Chong ultimately filed suit against Warner Bros., claiming the studio black balled him, hobbling his career. Following his appearance in The Matrix, the actor’s IMDb credits quickly dwindled, with most of his subsequent showings comprised of TV guest spots and short films. His last completed credit is from 2013, with one short film appearance currently in post-production.

2) The Keymaker

The Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim) is an exile program hiding in the Matrix to avoid detection (and deletion). He plays an important role in The Matrix Reloaded, in addition to appearing in the video games Enter the Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo. His character succumbs to death in Reloaded while attempting to bring Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Neo (Keanu Reeves) to the Source. The Keymaker perishes just before they reach the door to the Source. Despite his untimely demise, the character manages to pass the key to the door along to Neo and Morpheus.

The Keymaker is a fascinating character with a series of unique abilities that make him memorable to fans following his appearance in Reloaded. Although he fulfills his core mission by getting Morpheus and Neo to the Source, there are still plenty of potential avenues to explore with his character, especially considering that he’s a program and could be brought back to life without a great deal of context required. Case in point: Agent Smith died in The Matrix Revolutions, only to return in The Matrix Resurrections.

3) Seraph

For anyone who needs a brief refresher, Seraph (Collin Chou) is an advanced sentient exile program designed to protect The Oracle (Gloria Foster in The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded and Mary Alice in The Matrix Revolutions). He is first introduced in the second film and features once again in the third.

Last we hear from Seraph, he is tasked with protecting fellow sentient program Sati (Tanveer K. Atwal). In his efforts, both he and Sati are assimilated by Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), meaning that Smith effectively absorbs their powers, taking on the respective abilities of both characters as his own. Fans were understandably bummed when the writers didn’t resuscitate Seraph for the 2021 follow-up The Matrix Resurrections. Seraph has established himself as an endearing part of the franchise’s lore and would surely make a welcome addition to any future efforts.

4) Ghost

Ghost (Anthony Wong) is a recurring character in The Matrix series, a Zion operative who first appears in The Matrix Reloaded and subsequently returns for The Matrix Revolutions. Fans may remember him as the first mate on the Logos, a small hovercraft with a tiny core crew.

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We last hear from Ghost in The Matrix Revolutions when he joins members of the Zion team in the final showdown against the machines. Many fans hoped to see the character return for the 2021 follow-up The Matrix Resurrections, but the filmmakers opted to take the series in a different direction, instead introducing a series of new supporting players.

5) The Trainman

The Trainman features in The Matrix Revolutions. He is an exiled program, an antagonist who serves the Merovingian (a malevolent computer program played by Lambert Wilson), and aids programs moving between the machine world and the Matrix.

Trinity, Morpheus, and Seraph encounter the Trainman at Club Hel where they gain the upper hand on Merovingian. This allows the trio to force the Trainman to take them to Neo. Although there’s not really a definitive answer as to what happens to the character after that, many assume he was likely assimilated by Agent Smith. Despite that, it would have been nice to see him return to fight another day in Resurrections.

Now that we’ve outlined five characters who vanished without a trace from The Matrix franchise, we’d love to hear your take on who you want to see return. Hit us up in the comments section below.

As for the future of the series, a fifth live-action film is currently in development. Stay tuned for more updates on that as we uncover them.