Though Arnold Schwarzenegger started off the Terminator franchise as the main villain, the subsequent sequels have seen the star repeatedly go head to head with cybernetic organisms even more advanced than the T-800. In the upcoming Terminator: Dark Fate, for instance, we have Gabriel Luna as an enhanced T-1000 that’s capable of splitting into two separate units. But while this franchise newcomer is set to be a formidable foe, Luna himself has admitted to feeling a little intimidated by his co-star at first.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor attended CinemaCon earlier this week, where he spoke to ComicBook.com about his experience on set with Schwarzenegger. As it turns out, Luna felt some pressure to get in shape before meeting the action movie legend.
“Well shoot man, I was just like pumping out these reps trying to get strong because God forbid he show up and he’s is like ‘look at this shrimpy guy’ ya know? But he was incredible,” Luna said. “We trained together and he gave me a lot of really great tips and it was a very motivating factor, just to be strong, be ready for Arnold to get there because once he got there, man it truly took everything else another notch.”
Guests at CinemaCon also got to see a little footage of Luna’s T-1000 in action, and from what we understand, the sequence featured Blade Runner 2049 actress Mackenzie Davis as a soldier-assassin named Grace, as well as Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor.
While Schwarzenegger has appeared in almost every Terminator movie to date, Dark Fate will serve as Hamilton’s first entry in the series since 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which just so happens to be the last installment that most filmgoers can agree was genuinely good. With that in mind, it may well be more than bias that prompted Hamilton to recently call the last three sequels “very forgettable.”
Incidentally, this year’s release is also the first in the franchise since Judgment Day to involve series creator James Cameron, who returns on producing duties. Based on all we’ve seen and heard, Terminator: Dark Fate will be an attempt to recapture the magic of the first two movies, while also adapting the property to modern times. We’ll find out if Cameron and his team can pull it off when the film hits theaters on November 1st.