What would be the fucking point then? Slap the Matrix label on it and hope that it helps not having a Wacho movie ultrabomb again?
The Matrix is a universe, a concept that can be applied to a wide range of stories and make something great. That was 'the fucking point' of the animatrix.
They even built the idea of tons of previous versions of The Matrix into the lore.
I'm gonna say the proof is in the pudding that the potential wasn't really there because we never really got any of those stories. The franchise fizzled and sorta died beyond the initial push because the Matrix is more of a good concept than an actual fleshed living world. Stro bringing up Star Wars is very apt because it's the poster child of a fictional universe that would at first glance be an incredible base for all sort of stories but in reality is chained to the original characters, the Jedi, the lightsabers and a couple of other elements... And really outside of that, it's pretty one dimensional and simplistic.
The Matrix city isn't really interesting in itself, it's generic and it's the whole point innit, to be literally an empty, low level simulation and mirror image of the current day. It works incredibly well for what the first film sets to do but I really struggle to see it as a mysterious, exciting and engaging place suitable to many other stories. There's not really much else than "character realize world is fake", "character use that realization to activate god mode", "character fight the system". There's some elegant ways to do that, the Animatrix short "World Record" by Kawajiri / Koike explore a more relatable, concrete angle with the whole "breaking the limits" through sports (plus some unique visual flair)... Though it's sort of retread of another Kawajiri's work (The Runner in Manie Manie).
There's no unique design, no anticipation, there's no politics or geopolitics in the City : The Matrix, outside its visuals, is not
really (or so much, to avoid the pointless definition debate) a Cyberpunk piece than a story about Faith and not the most complex one at that (the incredibly transparent character names are a testament to that).
The most interesting thing in the story IMHO, that's not quite well realized, is the realization come the second film that Morpheus is basically a religious nut and terrorist going on a prayer.
But heh, life and art is a string of pleasant surprises and that wouldn't be the first I'd be wrong about something.