The Terminator franchise has, it's fair to say, been suffering a serious bout of the doldrums. Terminator Genisys was initially touted as a jolt of electricity to kick off a fresh new spin, but landed with all the grace of a T-800 endoskeleton being crushed in a hydraulic press. It didn't help that it relied so heavily on the mythology kicked off by James Cameron with the 1984 original, and mostly seemed worse by comparison. So what to do? Well, with Cameron's input, here comes Dark Fate, which ignores everything that happened after Terminator 2. The result? That's still to be seen...
Who Is Directing Terminator: Dark Fate?
With Cameron himself a little busy bringing approximately 73Avatarsequels to life, the directorial duties have fallen to a man with just one other feature film under his belt: animator, visual effects veteran and producer Tim Miller. Fortunately, that one film was Deadpool and it was a whole lot of fun, so it'll be interesting to see what tone he brings to the film. Hess already confirmed that he's returning the franchise to its R-rated roots, "because it wasn’t always that way, and the fans kind of demanded it and the DNA of Terminator is an R-rated fuckin’ movie!"
How Is James Cameron Involved In Terminator: Dark Fate?
Though he hasn't directly written the script or climbed back into the director's chair, James Cameron is certainly more involved this time. Other Terminator films beyond his own have had to be content with the odd positive word or thumbs up on a plot element; here Cameron is a creative consultant and a producer alongside David Ellison, boss of the Skydance production company helping to make the new movie (and making us worried it's just a few letters away from Skynet and oh no the robots are putting out propaganda ahead of an attack we must all be nice to our phones and... ahem). Anyway, it all indicates that he's had a say in the story direction and designs for the film, even if he's been happy to let others run with the actual making of the movie. The storyline points to him once again taking a real interest in returning the Terminator franchise to its former glory.
Is Arnold Schwarzenegger In Terminator: Dark Fate?
He certainly is, though we don't exactly know how his iconic Terminator character (either good or bad variant) fits into the plot. There have even been rumours he might actually be playing a human character: something the first trailer (above) does nothing to dispel. His character's name is Carl, which is certainly an odd moniker for a Terminator – even one that somehow got old.
Who Else Is In The Cast Of Terminator: Dark Fate?
The other big name from Terminator history returning for the first time in decades is Linda Hamilton. The once and future Sarah Connor looks typically ready to fight, and it's a welcome chance to see her play her most famous role again. She's joined by Natalia Reyes as Dani Ramos, whose been targeted for termination for reasons so-far unspecified; Mackenzie Davis as Grace, the human-machine hybrid (note that we're apparently not using the word "Terminator" for her) sent back from the future to protect her; Diego Boneta as Dani's older brother Miguel; and Gabriel Luna as Rev-9, a new type of terminator with liquid metal on the outside and a hard endoskeleton on the inside, and the ability to separate into two autonomous units.
James Cameron revealed at Comic-Con 2019 that Edward Furlong is also back as John Connor. The role of humanity's future leader against the machines was taken in the films after T2 first by Nick Stahl and then by Christian Bale... but in the new chronology Furlong continues. Except ... we know that child actor Jude Collie has been playing the young John Connor in flashback scenes, to be transformed into the young Furlong digitally. We don't quite yet have absolute clarification that Furlong himself is in the film as an adult.
What's The Plot Of Terminator: Dark Fate?
As per Fox and Paramount's official synopsis: "27 years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a new, modified liquid metal Terminator (Gabriel Luna) is sent from the future by Skynet in order to terminate Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes), a hybrid cyborg human (Mackenzie Davis), and her friends. Sarah Connor comes to their aid, as well as the original Terminator, for a fight for the future."
We can, of course, expect plenty of battles between humans and killer cyborgs, and there will surely be some explanation for what Sarah Connor has been up to (you know, since she's apparently not dead and all). Plus, we predict some timeline shifting, though hopefully not leading to as much of a mishmash as Genisys.
When Is Terminator: Dark Fate Released?
The film will be out on 13 November, 2019.
For an exclusive breakdown of the first trailer with director Tim Miller, head this way****.