Warner Bros
What the first thing you think of when someone mentions The Matrix? If you’re like me, it’s that one scene where Keanu Reeves says “Whoa,” but I have a feeling that more people would associate the movie with its impressive cinematography or collection of awesome trenchcoats.
You also can’t forget about the iconic green text that scrolls down the screen to open the movie, which we later learn is the only way for members of the Resistance to know what’s going on inside The Matrix. If you didn’t have rapidly moving columns of neon green Japanese set as your screensaver at one point, you missed out on one of the most essential experiences of the early 2000s.
The code was the brainchild of Simon Whiteley, who served as a production designer on the film. In a recent interview with CNET, Whiteley explained that the code wasn’t a code at all— it was just a collection of random characters that he’d scanned from his wife’s cookbooks:
“I like to tell everybody that The Matrix’s code is made out of Japanese sushi recipes. Without that code, there is no Matrix.”
Warner Bros is reportedly thinking about rebooting The Matrix, so don’t be surprised if the code ends up getting replaced by emojis in order to appeal to a younger, hipper audience.