As Arnold Schwarzenegger explains in the new issue of **Empire, Terminator Genisys is untethered from the fiddly business of having to dot all the 'i's and cross the 't's of previous films in the franchise. But swerving that timeline tangle doesn't mean that the sci-fi actioner won't be paying homage to Terminator lore. This new TV spot distills a fair few of them into 30 seconds of cybernetic showcasing.
There's a first proper look at J.K. Simmons as Detective O'Brien, a corner of officialdom a lot more willing to take all the doomsday prophesying at face value than, say, Dr. Silberman in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Never mind rushing and dragging, here's J.K. scarpering.
For those not already in the know, Genisys starts in 2029, with the war between the human rebels and Skynet’s malicious machines is in full swing. Present and correct – though played now by different actors – are John Connor (Jason Clarke) and Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) who are taking advantage of pushing back against the antagonistic artificial intelligence to send Reese to 1984 on his mission to save Sarah Connor from termination at the hands of a killer cyborg.
Except when Reese arrives, he discovers that the timeline has been altered and this Sarah (Emilia Clarke) was orphaned years ago by a Terminator attack. She has been raised by an Arnold Schwarzenegger-style ‘bot that has been living and ageing among humans.
With Matt Smith also among the cast and Thor: The Dark World’s Alan Taylor calling the shots, **Terminator Genisys **is set for UK release on July 3. The film centrepieces Empire's May issue, onsale now.