Katie Crocker - Associate Editor
First things first; I haven’t read the script (though know some that have), I don’t know Arnold Schwarzenegger (but once met the CEO of a protein powder factory that had) and haven’t been given this information by an official source on the production (not that I’d rat them out if I had), but the person that has supplied me with the following info on “Terminator : Genesis” is a really reputable source – they’ve given us a couple of scoops in the past, both of which turned out to be true. They’re also in the position – stress the word ‘position’ – to know; as such, all this is likely one-hundred percent on-the-money.
So let’s look at what we know about the new “Terminator” movie – now officially called “Terminator Genesis” (I’ve had that confirmed, too) – which is about to get underway in Atlanta and New Orleans. : It’s cue out in 2015. It’s going out through Paramount. Alan Taylor, of “Thor : The Dark World”, is directing. Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring, reprising his ‘Terminator’ role, alongside Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Jason Clarke as John Connor, and Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese. And though it’s not a remake, nor will it brush over the events of the previous movies, the film is described as a fresh ‘reboot – just like JJ Abrams’ “Star Trek” (2009) was, with Schwarzenegger’s title character the connecting tissue, in the way Leonard Nimoy’s ‘Old Spock’ reprise was to that movie.
Our source, however, says a better comparison title – than Abrams’ “Star Trek” – is “Back to the Future Part II”. By that, he/she means that while “Genesis” encompasses an original plot, it also – like “Back to the Future Part II”, which saw Marty and Doc having to revisit the events of 1955 again for the film’s last quarter – returns to and revisits some of the most memorable moments from the first two “Terminator” movies.
The writers have apparently found a brilliant way of playing tribute to the two greatest films in the “Terminator” series, while introducing us to a new scenario, and even new characters (there’s a couple that the torch may be passed to for future installments), that enables the franchise to press restart on itself with no complaints.
So here’s the small scoop we’ve been provided with…
Thanks to that ever-dependable alternate timeline device, and time-travel (which has always been a part of the series), Taylor’s film will take us back and forward between the future, 1984 (“The Terminator”), 1991 (“Terminator 2 : Judgement Day”) and other important and influential time periods in the life of the Connor family.
Firstly, we will indeed be revisiting the events of the original 1984 film again. The ‘Terminator’ from the future will arrive on earth, attack some punks (keen to see who they get to play ‘Bill Paxton’), and then slaughter his way through a bunch of Sarah Connors’ – until he finds the correct target. And all the characters that appeared in the Cameron original, like Detective Hal Vukovich (played by Lance Henriksen in the original), Lieutenant Ed Traxler (played by Paul Winfield way back when), Sarah’s roomie Ginger (Bess Motta in the ’84 film) and, yep, even Pugsley the Iguana, return. So, yep, we’ll likely get to see Schwarzenegger back in the leather jacket and cool sunglasses he wore in the original. And, of course, Kyle Reese (Courtney) volunteers to go back to 1984 and save Sarah – just as he did first time around. But don’t expect everything to work out like it did in the original.. something is going to play out different.
And then, we’ll also be taken back to the events of the sequel. The scene where the T-1000 (played by Robert Patrick in “Terminator 2 : Judgement Day”), posing as a cop, visiting John Connor’s home, where he meets – and consequently kills – foster parents Todd (Xander Berkeley) and Janelle (Jenette Goldstein), is in there. As are several other key moments.
And then we’ll be going back to moments we haven’t seen on film before – such as scenes with young Sarah and her parents.
Obviously, revisiting these events is intentional. As is usually the case with a film using the alternate timeline device, obviously something hasn’t gone right (maybe the Terminator succeeds in killing Sarah this time, around? I don’t know – just guessing) or something that happened in the past has greatly changed the future, meaning Connor’s resistance crew from the future have to ‘go back’ again. I’m not privy to all the why and how – just the when’s at the moment.
I’m still unsure how they’ll explain Schwarzenegger’s ‘older’ look (or maybe they won’t?) but one thing I’m pretty certain is, this will play super fresh and regenerate the series – thus the two sequels the filmmakers already have planned. Having only been told a miniscule amount about it, “Terminator : Genesis” sounds magnificent. This could quite possibly be the film of 2015.
