James Cameron has given his surprise seal of approval to upcoming science fiction sequel Terminator: Genisys, more than a decade after claiming the time-travelling saga should have been shut down after its first two iconic films.
Cameron introduced the world to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s unflinching T-800 cyborg in 1984’s The Terminator, and returned to complete the story with 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, by which time the Austrian former bodybuilder had become a huge Hollywood star. He famously said he had “told the story” over the course of the two movies, which culminated with John and Sarah Connor teaming up with a new T-800 (still Schwarzenegger) to avert the machine apocalypse.
But speaking to Yahoo! Movies , Cameron said he was prepared to make a dramatic u-turn after catching an early screening of Terminator: Genisys.
“I feel like the franchise has been reinvigorated, like this is a renaissance,” said the Avatar director. “The new film, which I think of as the third film [in the series], you see [Arnold Schwarzenegger] take the character even further.
“I had no idea what to expect sitting down, I had no involvement in making this film,” added Cameron. “If you like the Terminator films, you’re gonna love this movie.”
The director, who previously dismissed 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and 2009’s Terminator Salvation as unworthy of the name, said he had been won over by the new film’s key plot twist, controversially given away in a recent trailer. The narrative curveball sees Jason Clarke’s usually heroic John Connor returning to 1984 as some kind of cyborg villain in the new timeline.
“The idea of taking John Connor and flipping him to the bad guy, it’s kinda cool, because you got to riff against expectations,” said Cameron. “It’s all about the twists.”
Terminator: Genisys stars Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor and Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, with Schwarzenegger returning to one of his best known roles at the age of 67. In the new storyline, John Connor once again sends his key lieutenant back in time to save his mother from machine terminators and ensure his own survival. But when Reese arrives in the past, he discovers Sarah is no longer the innocent target seen in 1984’s The Terminator.
Cameron himself fed the filmmakers the mechanism which allowed them to recast the former California governor, suggesting that a Terminator who spent decades in the past while waiting to spring into action might outwardly age while their machine skeleton remained in perfect working condition.
Cameron’s intervention could prove a box office boon for Alan Taylor’s film after early trailers failed to win over fans disappointed by the previous two movies.
Terminator: Genisys opens round the world at the start of July.
