Caffeinated Clint
Despite the fact that he’s nowhere to be seen in the trailer, and the only actor listed in the part is a young teenager (the same age Edward Furlong was in 1991’s “Terminator 2 : Judgement Day”), James Cameron promises that November’s “Terminator : Dark Fate” will continue the story of John Connor.
In the first trailer for the film, we get to see Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor save a trio of new characters from a time-traveling assassin, we also get a brief glimpse of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ageing Terminator, but no sign of young Connor – the young man who will, in the years to come, lead the battle against the machines.
Unlike his “Terminator 2” co-stars Hamilton and Schwarzenegger, it would seem Edward Furlong wasn’t asked to reprise his role for director Tim Miller’s new film.Instead, it seems the script opted not to include a grown-up John Connor and only feature the character in some brief flashback sequences – where he’ll be played by Jude Collie.
It’s been reported that Collie will be a CGI stand-in – in other words, they’ll likely replace his face with that of a young Furlong.
So, what’s the go? No Connor at all in this timeline? What happened to him – dare we ask?
Cameron, returning as both a producer and consultant on the new “Terminator”, says that the character still factors into this story – he just won’t say how.
“I think the best way to think about Terminator: Dark Fate is to think about it as a direct sequel to Terminator 2, the third film in a series, if you will. We’ll be continuing with Sarah’s story, John’s story, and the T-800 returns — a different T-800 with a very different role to play than what we’ve seen before.”
While the trailer got a mixed reception, Cameron promises fans the new film is a “fast white-knuckle ride” that is “intense… linear” and all those good things.
“I think, tonally, what makes this a direct sequel to T1 and T2 is as much about the tone as it is about the narrative: It’s R rated, it’s grim, it’s gritty, it’s fast, it’s intense, it’s very linear. The whole story takes place in 36 hours. It’s not this kind of grandiose, complex story. It’s just very focused on the characters, it’s very now, it’s very present and it’s just a fast white-knuckle ride.”
The story, says Cameron, largely revolves around Sarah Connor’s vocation as a cyborg assassin.
“The principle of our movie is that there’s an inevitable conflict between humans and the intelligent machines that they make. And all [Sarah Connor has] done is kick the can down the road from her future back in the ’80s to our future now in 2019. Judgment Day is right around the corner, yet again. It’s an inevitability. So she’s kicked the can, she’s going to have to try to kick it again and again. The war never ends. So Sarah has become a Terminator hunter. She’s not waiting to be hunted by a Terminator, she hunts them. She’s figured out a way to be there when they pop through time and she just blows their shit away.”
“Terminator : Dark Fate” opens November 1st.
