Morpheus, who is main character Neo’s mentor in the Matrix films, was actually inspired by a character created by Neil Gaiman in The Sandman.
Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is widely praised as one of the greatest comics ever written. What many people do not know, however, is that its protagonist, known as Dream or Morpheus, actually inspired the Wachowskis to create the iconic character of Morpheus for the film The Matrix.
This might sound shocking considering the differences between the two stories. The Sandman is a work of fantasy and horror that spans across time and prominently features gods, demons, and major historical figures. By contrast, The Matrix is a philosophical cyberpunk thriller concerned with post-apocalyptic dystopian struggles and gun-fu fighting. However, the character of Morpheus perfectly bridges these two very different universes.
The protagonist of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman is Dream, AKA Morpheus, who is the living personification of Dreaming. He is one of seven immortal siblings known as the Endless who are even more powerful than the gods. However, the Endless are limited by rules, as each has a very specific nature and a domain they rule over. Mortals enter into Dream’s domain when they sleep, and sometimes he blesses them with gifts that inspire their waking life. Clad in dark robes, he is a wise, stoic, and enigmatic figure, and over the course of the series, he proves that even someone who is Endless is capable of change (as well as the limits of such change).
The Matrix‘s Morpheus (played by Lawrence Fishburne) is the enigmatic captain of a group of hacktivist vigilantes piloting a ship through a post-apocalyptic world where most humans are stored in pods that syphon their energy by the Machines that control the world. These captive people are hooked up to a neural-interface program known as the Matrix that simulates contemporary reality. Morpheus is a dreamer who believes in the prophecy of “the One,” a person destined to save humanity. Morpheus finds Neo, whom he believes to be the One, waking him from the hallucinated slumber of the Matrix and teaching Neo how to bend the rules of reality.
It is not difficult to see how the character Dream/Morpheus from Sandman inspired the dreamer Morpheus in The Matrix who wakes those trapped in artificial slumber. The Wachowskis took inspiration from numerous existing works, including The Sandman. Interestingly, Lawrence Fishburne met the Head of DC Comics, Jenette Kahn, on an airplane at some point in the 90s, and she gave him a box of Sandman comics. However, Fishburne did not actually start reading the books until he was cast in his now-famous role, at which point he asked the Wachowskis about the similarities. The directors instructed him to play the part of The Matrix‘s Morpheus like he was Morpheus in The Sandman.
Shortly after the filming had been completed, Neil Gaiman was approached by the Wachowskis to write a story tied to the film. This story, “Goliath,” was turned into a comic with art by Bill Sienkiewicz and Gregory Ruth, part of The Matrix Comics Series 1. In other words, Gaiman’s Sandman comic inspired the film The Matrix which led to him being hired to make a Matrix comic. It speaks to just how far the rabbit hole really goes.
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