Carl Roberts 
James Cameron, Linda Hamilton and Tim Miller open up about the latest addition to the Terminator franchise
What an opening day! Not only have we been scared out of our seats by the return of Pennywise the clown in the new ‘IT: Chapter 2‘ trailer. Not only have we had our breath taken away by the reveal of the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ trailer but we have had a panel for the upcoming sixth instalment of James Cameron’s ‘Terminator‘ franchise, entitled ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’.
James Cameron himself live-streamed to the panel from the set of his ‘Avatar‘ sequels. He stated to the audience that his role on the film, as producer this time, was to make the best movie he could and stated that actor Arnold Schwarzenegger had to be in it or else, no movie. He also dropped on us the revelation that actor Edward Furlong has returned to his debut role from 1991s ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ as John Connor. Cameron also revealed he personally asked actress and original Sarah Conner, Linda Hamilton to return to her iconic role.
Some footage was shown from the new film but what that footage entailed is unreported at this time.
Director of the new film, Tim Miller attended the panel. It was his 25th San Diego Comic-Con attendance but only his second in famed Hall H. Miller told the assembled that he was approached by producer David Ellison during the post-production of ‘Deadpool‘ about becoming involved in the film to which he quoted his response was an emphatic “F**k yeah!”. His initial reaction to the premise of helming a sixth Terminator film was, the director explained, really mixed but once he was informed that Linda Hamilton was on board, he was sold on the idea. He also quoted “Time travel with multiple realities loses the dramatic stakes. There is only one Terminator timeline” giving a disguised but knowing barb at the last entry in the series, ‘Terminator: Genesys’.
Miller also revealed he had a $20 bet with Arnold Schwarzenegger that he wouldn’t use the F word more than six times during the panel. And it can be revealed that Miller LOST!
Regarding the rating the film will receive and after the last two efforts received PG-13 in the States and 12A in the United Kingdom alongside family-friendly ratings across the globe, Miller revealed the film will be officially rated R. Quoting that the fans of the franchise demand have led the filmmakers to go in that direction, Miller told the audience “The DNA of Terminator is an R-F**king movie, that was always the plan”, giving the fans a sense of joy that the film will be returning to the violent and dark tones of the original two entries and abandoning the toned-down versions of the past three movies (Even though Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines gained an R rating in the United States, the film was classified for family audiences in the rest of the world).
The footage shown apparently had lots of scenes of Hamilton’s character saying ‘F**k’ but none featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to the assembled cast and director, robots don’t swear. Linda Hamilton herself sat on the panel and was looking wonderful, dressed in a white top and jacket. Hamilton revealed that she calls James Cameron ‘Jimbo’. Tim Miller then said it was because she had slept with him (Cameron) to which Hamilton replied “Only once” (Hamilton is Cameron’s ex-wife in case you didn’t know).
The actress also revealed that it took her a long time to decide on whether she would return to the role that made her famous and is most known for. She decided to return due to the passage of time and the chance to rock it as a woman of a certain age as well as the chance to try and top Terminator 2. in addition, she also said of Tim Miller that the director brought a lot to helming the film and is ‘the most generous and beloved director she has ever worked with’.
Young actress Natalia Reyes, a newcomer to the franchise, appeared on stage and told the assembled she was terrified to be there. This was, she said due to the fact that she wasn’t even born when the first film came out. Another newcomer to the franchise, Mackenzie Davis told the audience she was wary of appearing in a big-budget movie but Tim Miller had made it a nice balance between action and emotion. The director, in turn, said that Davis had worked harder than anyone else in the film with the exception of Linda Hamilton herself. Hamilton responded by saying that while Davis was younger, Hamilton was meaner.
The new Terminator himself, Gabriel Luna was in attendance. He spoke to the assembled audience and revealed that he would play the Terminator theme on his guitar on the set and was petrified that Tim Miller would grab it and smash it. Luna also revealed that he spent a lot of time with Arnold Schwarzenegger during the production of the film and the pair became good friends.
Other snippets that came out during the panel:
Linda Hamilton’s favourite line from the entire franchise is her immortal line from the original film, “You’re terminated, F**ker!”
Hamilton quoted “F**k, I’m old!” after the footage was screened.
The best line of dialogue from the new film from the footage shown was “We are human, you metal motherf**ker”
The timeline in this new film will make perfect sense. The makers are not considering the film as the sixth in the franchise but as ‘The Terminator 3 you always wanted’
The film opens around the world on November 1st and could be the film we have all been waiting for, ever since Terminator 2 hit the screens 28 years ago. In that time, we have seen the date of Judgment day come and go and the date of the rise of the human resistance fly past us. Could it be that in 2019, The Terminator comes full circle and gives us a film that fits in perfectly with the classic and much loved original two films and creates an almost perfect trilogy?
Will November 1st be the Terminator’s ultimate Judgment Day?
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Carl Roberts is a Senior Staff Writer and Books and Literature Correspondent for The Future of the Force. He is passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Indiana Jones and Horror movies. Follow him on Twitter @CarlRoberts2 where he uses the force frequently!
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Carl Roberts is the News Editor for The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force frequently!
