Jefferson Airplane fans have gone down a rabbit hole while watching the new trailer for the fourth installment of The Matrix featuring one of the rock band’s classics.
The Matrix Resurrections, starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, follows Thomas Anderson a.k.a. Neo (Reeves) and Trinity (Moss) being trapped in a simulation where they appear to not know each other. The eye-opening visual is soundtracked by Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 Billboard Hot 100 No. 8 hit “White Rabbit,” where the line “Go ask Alice” is appropriately synched to Priyanka Chopra-Jonas’ character reading a copy of Alice in Wonderland, and the line “And if you go chasing rabbits” playing while the nearly three-minute video highlights Jessica Henwick’s character’s rabbit tattoo on her arm.
“As a connoisseur of on-the-nose soundtrack work I simply must stan,” rock critic Steven Hyden wrote on Twitter.
While the psychedelic rock track written by San Francisco singer Grace Slick has been covered many times, fans on social media were relieved the original version was being used in The Matrix trailer. “Whoever decided to soundtrack the new Matrix trailer with White Rabbit–the OG, not a cheap slowed-down cover–god bless you,” another Twitter user wrote. The official account for the sci-fi film franchise responded, “[without] borders. [without] boundaries” to quote Neo from the original 1999 movie.
There was so much reaction to the use of the Jefferson Airplane classic that “White Rabbit” became a trending topic — alongside the trailer — on Thursday. The Matrix Resurrections will premiere in theaters and on HBO Max Dec. 22.
Watch the trailer and see fans’ thoughts on the usage of “White Rabbit” below.
Whoever decided to soundtrack the new Matrix trailer with White Rabbit—the OG, not a cheap slowed-down cover—god bless you
— Maddie (@maddiewhittle) September 9, 2021
Watched the new MATRIX movie trailer and they used “White Rabbit” and when Grace Slick sings “Alice” they show the book ALICE IN WONDERLAND and when she says “rabbit” they show a rabbit tattoo. As a connoisseur of on-the-nose soundtrack work I simply must stan.
— Steven Hyden (@Steven_Hyden) September 9, 2021
genuinely love how on the nose that trailer was. yiss play white rabbit. actually show a copy of alice in wonderland. show a tattoo of a rabbit at the exact moment ‘rabbit’ is heard in the lyrics. fuck it, lean into it
— Shaun (@shaun_vids) September 9, 2021
I’m glad whoever cut together the new Matrix trailer used the original “White Rabbit” instead of some slow, twee cover that sounds like it’s being sung by a Dickensian ghost inside a haunted music box.
— Andrew (@jupin) September 9, 2021
AGHH AHHH YHE WAY WHITE RABBIT BLENDED WITH THE MATRIX THEME. THAT LOOKS FANTASTIC NOW THATS A BLOCKBUSTER!!!!! LANA WACHOWSKI!!! THIS AND THE BATMAN. WARNER BROS ARE BACK #MATRIX
— AJ | Doom Patrol era (@AjepArts) September 9, 2021
The Matrix 4 trailer proves that amping up a well-known song for a trailer is actually good, as long as that song is Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”
— Aanand (@aanand) September 9, 2021
me: it’s an obvious cliche to use jefferson airplane’s “white rabbit” in your movie where everything is not as it seems
me, watching the trailer for a movie about how everything is not as it seems which features jefferson airplane’s “white rabbit”: yeah fuck yeah
— Jim does a Star War (@ObsKenobs) September 9, 2021
Almost 22 years later, I got to say, how did they not use Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” in the previous 3 #TheMatrix movies?
— Mostafa Mossaad (@TheMusta) September 9, 2021
The main thing the new “Matrix” trailer has made me realize is that I never knew most of the lyrics to “White Rabbit” and that that was probably for the best. pic.twitter.com/NAWpoaSpZB
— Tim Carvell (@timcarvell) September 9, 2021
The Wachowskis are among the precious few filmmakers who can pick a blindingly obvious musical cut like ‘White Rabbit’, totally wear it out, and then turn around and do it all over again two decades later, and have me still completely on board. So pumped for this stupid movie.
— ‘no cops, no capital, no malarkey’ zachary (@TomKhruisehchev) September 9, 2021
Ooookay. I watched that trailer everyone is talking about. Holy shit it looks good. Helps that they chose White Rabbit for the music, but damn.
Damn.
— Moosecat Comics (Robo) (@moosecatcomics) September 9, 2021
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