Of all the big budget tentpoles and movie reboots headed our way, Terminator: Genesis is one of the most enigmatic. As of now, we know very little about the film outside of its cast, which includes Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Jason Clarke as John Connor, Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, and of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular killing machine.
The film will be a reboot of the franchise, but is expected to somehow tie in to the original entries as well, and the plot is said to involve time travel. Outside of that though, details are quite scarce. We’ll just have to wait until the Alan Taylor-directed flicks arrives on July 1, 2015 to see how it all plays out.
Recently, Schwarzenegger spoke with Collider about his upcoming film Sabotage and was asked to divulge some details about his highly anticipated return to the Terminator franchise. According to him, he doesn’t know if the film will be rated PG-13 or R, and says it doesn’t have an official title. However, he has read the script and says that it not only has great visual effects, but has the same feel as the best film in the franchise, Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
“Terminator [Genesis] is going to have the exact same feel. The way it reads, it has the same feel of Terminator 2. It’s big. There’s hardcore action and it has some really great visual effects in there, but not over the top. It’s not a Thor type of movie, even though it’s the same director. It has good special effects, but just enough to say, “Wow, where did that come from? How did they do that?””
It’s encouraging to hear that Taylor may be resorting to a mix of practical and CGI effects to make Terminator: Genesis really stand out. He certainly showed that he could handle that type of filmmaking in Thor: The Dark World, which added a strong sense realism to the world of Asgard and the Nine Realms. The Terminator franchise has always fared better when it sticks closer to the horror and action genres than big spectacle science fiction, so as long as Taylor brings the series back to its roots we could all be in for a real treat.
Though we’re still not sure what role Schwarzenegger will play (early unconfirmed reports suggested that he’d play the human that the T-800 was modeled after), he seems excited to jump back into the franchise.
“I think that it’s just so wild to have a franchise that has been around for that long, and then after 30 years, to get asked again to be the only character in a movie that is the same character is unheard of, in movie history. You always switch out, like with James Bond and Batman. They have new characters there. But, not here. That, to me, is an extraordinary situation and a great opportunity. Of course, I was honored when I was asked to come back and play the character with Sarah Connor.
It’s great because I’ve stayed in physical shape, and they see me in different movies and on social media and with all the stuff that I do. I’m still on the cover of the muscle magazines… It’s really unusual. That’s never, ever happened, that I’m aware of, in the history of these kinds of things, where you can lead a franchise like that and be the star, at this age. That just shows you that, if you have the attitude of a young person and you work like a young person and you keep your body in shape, and if you believe that you can do it, then you can actually make other people also believe that you can do it.”
Terminator: Genesis begins filming at the end of April in New Orleans, so we can expect to hear more about the project as things start moving forward. Let’s just hope Schwarzenegger’s enthusiasm about the project and T2 comparisons prove valid. I’d hate to wind up with another Rise of the Machines.