Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.
A synthetic alternative to recode will be discovered on Earth.
Now that Jupiter is ruler of Earth, and many other planets, those worlds can develop technologically to a greater point than they would otherwise have been allowed to. If they found a non-murderous way to grant people immortality, it would save the Abrasax corporation (which is likely to end up in financial straits without harvesting humans), but would likely cause all of their competitors to immediately declare war (their crops are now worthless, and presumably some form of intergalactic patent law would prevent them from manufacturing the new stuff). The second movie ends with Jupiter telling the people of Earth, and all the other farm-planets, the truth, and giving them the technology they need to fight, leading to an all-out war between the Entitleds and the Farm Worlds in the third. This movie is set in the same continuity as The Matrix.
In The Matrix Reloaded, the Oracle says that at least a previous version of the Matrix had vampires, werewolves and aliens. Here, we actually get to see werewolves and aliens, and the main character compares the Abrasax siblings to vampires. Thus, this movie takes place in the previous Matrix the Oracle was talking about.- As a corollary: if sequels are ever made, Jupiter will become (and embrace her status as) the One, giving up her ordinary life forever.
There's more to the incident where Caine ripped an Entitled's throat out than we (or he) know.
He says he doesn't remember it happening, or why he did it. We've seen technology that can wipe away memories like that. It's entirely possible that somebody set him up, or that he had a motive other than instinct. The Entitled Caine attacked in the past was Balem
We know Caine is protective of Jupiter. Odds are that he had a certain loyalty to the mother of the Abrasax siblings as well. One day after the murder, Caine finds out that Balem was responsible and tears his throat out. Miraculously, Balem survives, probably with help from Recoding. Unfortunately for him, scars from the attack remain on his neck and his voicebox is permanently damaged. Hence the high collars and the breathy voice. As for Caine, Balem orders the Greys to wipe his memory. Caine and Jupiter were together in her past incarnation.
I feel that if they were soulmates, it would fit the film's dramatic tone perfectly. Also, I highly doubt that all reincarnates are wealthy enough to become, officially, Entitled. Some are simply not important enough to be recorded. An important theme or subplot was cut from the film during its six month hiatus.
In his review of the film Moviebob said (paraphrasing) that he felt a better film had been left on the cutting room floor, and that this had probably happened sometime during the film's otherwise unexplained six month hiatus. Given the The Matrix was the subject of Executive Meddling (changing humans from CPUs to batteries) it is quite possible the same thing happened here. Some possible themes the executives might have gotten cold feet about:- The medicine can be produced synthetically but a large percentage of the galactic population irrationally favours naturally produced medicine, even if it is chemically identical to something synthetically produced - as a broad sweep at various groups that live by the naturalistic fallacy.
- That the Abraxis family only owns the intellectual rights to the medicine (and vast profits) if they (A) constantly assert those rights by manufacturing it and (B) do not change the process in any way - as a broad sweep at the whole copyright and pattent legal system.
- That 'harvest' is mistranslation, and the correct word in the english language is 'Rapture'. This event is triggered not so much by 'peak population', but rather the rise of skepticism as a social movement, which is somehow linked to 'peak gullibility', even with a rising population - as a broad sweep against people who think you can get to heaven without dying.
This universe is actually a prequel to Ai no Kusabi
Despite Jupiter's best efforts very little changes occur in the commonwealth.- Earth isn't harvested, allowed to develop naturally, and eventually joins the system that was going to turn its people into forever-young-goo.
- A synthetic alternative to Regenex was found but a virus mutated within it, causing girls to be born less frequently than boys.
- Jupiter was memorialized in the supercomputer built for-and named after-her.
- Splices-now called pets- are still looked down upon.
- And the beautiful elite are still the ruling class.
Jupiter Ascending is adapted from other works, without actually being an adaptation of those works.
While comparisons have been made of this film to the Wachowskis' own The Matrix franchise, and also to the Star Wars Franchise, the society, culture, and overall themes as presented in Jupiter have similarities to those of the Dune franchise, as created by Frank Herbert, and later expanded on by his son Brian Herbert. Considering the legendary difficulties in bringing adaptations of Dune into being, and then the negative receptions that the results have consistently drawn, perhaps it was hoped by creating a film inspired by the Herberts' work, without actually adapting any of them directly, Jupiter Ascending might avoid said fate. Unfortunately. . .Also, anyone who's seen Quatermass would recognise what has happenned at the very beginning of the film.
Jupiter is the goddess that the crazy pagan cult from The Wicker Man (2006) worship.
- Bees supposedly recognize royalty and the cult are all about those bees. But why? Because the bees aren't just their money makers, they also show them who the owner of Earth is!
