In fact, there's six of them and Smith was the first; my One order is Smith, the Trainman, the Twins, Hamann, Seraph, Neo. This order represents an instability inherent to the code of the One, which is part of why the Oracle takes such a chance with Neo, and why Smith is so bitter/angry/nihilistic.
As explained on The Matrix Wiki, there are multiple hints that Seraph may have been a previous incarnation of the One, before the Matrix was rebooted and Neo was born. His combat skills outpace even the most dangerous Agents, suggesting that Seraph was a powerful figure in the past.
Who was originally supposed to be Neo in the Matrix?
The very first name pitched for the role of Neo was Nicolas Cage. But Cage being the family man that he is, quickly turned down the role in the Matrix franchise because he wasn't ready to stay away from his family for an extended production schedule.
Neo was the “chosen one” both figuratively and in-universe, but the way the Matrix movies deal with the idea of a predestinated hero is quite different from other popular stories like Star Wars. In The Matrix, being The One meant that Neo could perceive the Matrix simulation in a way that no other human could.
According to Morpheus, the founder of Zion was the very first person to wake up from the Matrix simulation. Morpheus believed that person to have been the first and only “One,” and that Neo would be the second. Morpheus was not aware, however, that there had actually been five Ones before Neo.
The Merovingian was the First "One"! | MATRIX EXPLAINED
Is Neo a human or a program?
In the first Matrix film, Morpheus explains that Neo's "body" is a digital construct created by his mind known as a "residual self-image," rather than an actual flesh-and-blood human body.
Neo's true nature as The One manifests after he is shot and apparently killed by Agent Smith while trying to escape the Matrix after rescuing Morpheus from interrogation by the Agents. After a confession and a kiss from Trinity, Neo reawakens in the Matrix, his powers enabled, and easily defeats the agents.
If she had, in fact, told Neo that he was destined to be the One, it would lead to feelings of complacency, due to which Neo might have ultimately failed to bring about balance and freedom in the world.
Neo has carried, since his conception, the Matrix's source code known as the Prime Program. This gives him the ability to freely manipulate the simulated reality of the Matrix, similar to the authority a system administrator has over a given system. He manifests these abilities as various superhuman powers.
In fact, Smith turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix to star in the critically panned western adaptation. His decision leaves many spectators wondering why he chose not to take on a role that's now considered iconic in both the sci-fi and action genres.
Besides the role of the Architect, Sean Connery was offered the role of Morpheus. He turned it down because he couldn't understand the material, and the role eventually went to Laurence Fishburne.
In fact, there's six of them and Smith was the first; my One order is Smith, the Trainman, the Twins, Hamann, Seraph, Neo. This order represents an instability inherent to the code of the One, which is part of why the Oracle takes such a chance with Neo, and why Smith is so bitter/angry/nihilistic.
No longer an Agent, Smith is liberated from the Machines' control and exists as a renegade program that manifests himself akin to a self-replicating computer virus compared to his original Agent-based ability to inhabit a single body wired into the Matrix. Smith gains the power to copy his physical form onto any entity ...
There were five versions of The One before Neo, separate for each cycle, yet their stories all ended in the same way. The One was destined to fail, and the Matrix simulation would reset every time Zion's resistance came close to having a chance of winning the Machine War.
For Morpheus, The Oracle tells him that he would find The One, a man with incredible powers within the Matrix who could end the Machine War. The Oracle's powers of precognition appear amazingly accurate, even knowing that Neo was about to knock over a vase in her kitchen.
When Foster passed away before filming her role in The Matrix Revolutions, she was replaced with actress Mary Alice, and an explanation for the Oracle's new appearance was written into the movies. When Neo first meets the Oracle in The Matrix, she is an enigmatic woman who is revered by members of the Resistance.
The trailer gives the impression that both characters have somehow had their memories wiped, and the culprit behind this might very well be the franchise's infamous blue pills. When Neo first meets Morpheus in the original film, he gives Neo a now-iconic choice.
The Animatrix confirms that only two people have ever achieved self-substantiation: an Olympic track athlete named Dan Davis and a teenager known as The Kid. The Animatrix segment "World Record" revealed Dan accidentally unplugged himself from The Matrix by pushing himself beyond his physical limitations during a race.
Scaling Neo's power is easier when comparing Keanu Reeves' character to Agent Smith. Before fully awakening his potential, Neo is soundly beaten by the Agent, but overtakes the enemy program after evolving into The One.
Pantoliano's Cypher is one of several crew members of Morpheus' (Laurence Fishburne) ship, the Nebuchadnezzar, but he infamously betrays the entire crew after being offered a tasty deal by Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving).
But The Oracle has steered Trinity into falling in love with Neo (by telling her she would fall in love with The One before she met Neo), and thus has subtly changed the profound attachment that The One has for humanity into an attachment not only to humanity but more so in one particular individual he loved deeply: ...
Throughout the film, it is apparent that Trinity has been in love with Neo from afar for some time, although she continues to conceal her feelings for him.
Trinity : The answer is out there, Neo, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to. Trinity : Neo, I'm not afraid anymore. The Oracle told me that I would fall in love and that that man... the man that I loved would be The One. So you see, you can't be dead.
