McG Talks Terminator Salvation Ending & Trilogy Potential

Let's begin with a sweeping generalization which I will hopefully later explain,

"HOLLYWOOD HAS LOST IT'S BALLS."

The Terminator in 1984 was an excellent if low'ish budget movie and a massive success, and why?, the special effects were very good for the time but not awesome, it was basically just a chase movie so why did it work?. "The idea" "The idea" "The idea" Jim Cameron had a great idea it's that simple.

Terminator 2 again a massive success why it was just another chase movie, massive budget and hugely improved special effects, but that wasn't the key to it's success. Again it was the "idea" Cameron again had a brilliant "idea", turn the scenario on it's head a bit having the big Austrian protect the central protagonist and not trying to destroy him. A real stroke of genius that worked perfectly.

Terminator 3 really failed on exactly the same premise. No new idea, no spark, Typical hollywood money machine fodder. "Let's take the best bits of the previous two and it'll work". Well as we all know it just didn't.

So where could the franchise go but into the post judgement day era, and it really should have worked in mixing the terminator franchise with a Mad Max world. I really enjoyed Salvation but not on any other level than a pretty good action movie, I had no intention of writing a blog about it were it not for the rumours I am already hearing on the web. I just didn't feel opinionated enough to add my 50 cents to the cloud of noise but now I have to.

So it seems evident already that Salvation will make a profit, will do well at the box office, well enough to justify a 5th chapter, but already and in no small part because the film has not terminated everything else at the box office there is shear panic about what chapter 5 should be.

When Mr charlies angels was recruited to deliver terminator 4, I was of the same mind as many that this guy isn't up to the job, but let's look at where McG has shown the mythology great respect.

T600 rubber skin check !
HK's check
Kyle learning how to tie off his shotgun to himself (really subtle nod to the original)
The Sarah tapes, photo and redheaded wife of connor, chech, check and check !
Action, chase sequences and lots of explosions check.
The Connor scar (ok a bit of a clumsy "look, look we expain that too" moment)

Ok he's made mistakes, the brilliant cgi Arnie just wasn't that brilliant, destroyed city vista's are great but not if they are flanked by obviously 50 yr old forests (paint them out in post, you lazy fool, if concrete doesn't survive a nuclear blast neither does timber). The marcus character was a bit of a weak idea, but overall it was far better than chapter 3 in the franchise but not a batman begin's reboot moment.

The news on Terminator 5 is truely terrifying. A time travelling john Conner, Hk's travelling through time, Robert Patrick as a scientist obviously designing the t-1000 (Alien 3 anyone?). If even one of these rumours hold's any water what it tells me is the money men are saying...

"T4 isn't going to make us a boat load of cash PANNNICCCC, copy the old films, bring in the people from the old films, travel through time, do anything to make it rock"

Any respect for the timeline of the original trilogy that was shown in T4 would be terminated, trampled over and crushed underfoot worse than any damage to the poxy little T.V series cash in "Sarah Connor Chronicles" ever did.

Show some balls McG stick to your gun's progress the franchise in the post judgement day era, do no capitulate to money driven fools who wish to patronise the audience with "you just want a robot chasing someone in present day L.A really don't you, ok we'll go back to that formulae"

I saw T4 today and I loved it. It's much better than Star Trek. I believe T4 is much better put together than T3.

Oh you didn't like T3 kim Jong? Whata shocker ? ;-P
I felt it went down hill after I saw who they cast as Sarah Connor for the tv show.
The pilot episode also contradicted the parameters of the time machine canon based on what Reese explained in Terminator...

Well, technically it was already ruined 6 years ago, but that's a different topic... lol

The only reason the last few episode of that show was good was because they were killing everyone off. The second season was very disappointing in my opinion. And now it looks like it's cancelled. Oh well, it could have been interesting to see a resistence under different leadership than John Connor. Watch it succeed faster than before, John would feel like crap, lol.

The way things are going Tony you might get your wish.

Although I think that would only completely ruin the integrity of the franchise but its almost ruined anyway...

She's not a great actress but I definitely liked her in the show. I just don't know if I would like her in the movie. That's a little risky.

Summer Glau has singlehandedly revived the Terminator franchise with her role as Cameron. It would be fitting if she played a big part of T5 and T6. You can easily incorporate her character in the movies especially with the changing timelines!

Last I saw of Cameron she was showing a little too much Endo,,, :-)

Oh come guys help me out.
Lets try and get Summer Glau in terminator 5 and 6.
Cameron Phillips is the best terminator, and the best thing
to happen to John Connor.

Zubin, the reason the TX came to be was the fact that the events in T2 didn't stop Skynet it only stalled it long enough for the technology to go full military. Note that this would explain the on board weapons the TX, carried.

The Flying HK was also refined as the ones we saw the future war scenes in T3 were a tad more heavily armed...

From the description Terminator gave John Conner (T2) the military started off by using Cyberdyne microchips in the stealth fighters. I believe that Skynet's evolution was altered by the time T3 occurred. Therefore this allows for new designs in cyborg hardware...

As Gary said, i wouldn't mix TV & Film universes. I wouldn't introduce any new robot models until every background of the existing ones are fully explored. Also logically & realistically there should be some sort of progression or explaination of why newer models should be introduced. In T3, it was horrible because we suddendly get a smaller female terminator, cheesly dubbed T-X, who has an arm cannon and orgasms to blood. And we all want to ignore those events. Summer Glau makes a great terminator in the series, but no her character should not appear in the films or until we fully establish the innerworkings of Skynet.

As for a Robert Patrick based film, i'm all for it as long as its kept logically sound.

First off, LMAO, at your gravatar Kahless,,,, I'm still laughing... Man that's funny in a good way,,, :-)

Second the T-1000 was a prototype and only one was created. It was never fully tested it was just sent back asap... (Source: T2, novel based on the screenplay by Cameron/ Wisher.)

Later (Dark Horse Comics) expanded on the T-1000 origin. His likeness was based on a resistance soldier that was teamed up with Reese. He was captured and drugged for information by Skynet, then killed by two T-1000's who both took his likeness. One went back to the past to kill John/T2, the other infiltrated the resistance after the fall of Skynet and was able to sneek past the celebrating humans, long enough to gain access to the crippled Skynet infrastructure and download a backup program. The series ended as the last T-1000 walked into the night, supposedly to restart Skynet at one of its other Command centers.
^
If anyones into Terminator I highly reccomend that comic series. I forget the title but it came out several years after T2. Just google, (Dark Horse Terminator comics).

And yes I totally agree Cat, that would have killed the franchise harder then Indy 4 killed Jones... :-)
I remember when that rumor came out, Mcg totally denied it was true,,, another true lie,,,

So, the ending that was leaked was going to be the actual ending????????? Thank God it leaked! That would have been the worst possible ending. Trying to get a little too creative I think.

A while back I'd be all for a Series / Movie tie in, but where the series has gone now I can't agree with that. The series at this point has sort of gone to crap and not only that, but has completely changed and moved away from being related to any of the movies. The show seems more like a different universe now.

what talkative, this McG! i would know all the movie before see him!

I feel it is best not to even consider the first collection of films a trilogy. Better think of the two films independently and imagine that the third one never happened. Here's hoping others are down for collective amnesia.

It's what I do when ever I think of the X-men: The Last Stand. Just consider it an unfinished trilogy. Never happened. lalalalalalala).

I'm on the B.A.G. bandwagon at the moment so I'll say yes to that, SK-47.

A year ago, there were rumours that the movie may include a character or two from the TV series to tie it all together but it was all later debunked.

no on Summer Glau. I really do not get the factuation with Summer, yes she is pretty, i mean, I sure wouldn't pass up a 1-nite-stand with her. And, she can kick really high. But I really don't see it/get it.

If anything, they need to put in Brian Austin Green in this new trilogy of films.

Dude your right Summer Glau would be awesome in these, it would really tie the series and movies together, awesome idea! That is if TSCC isn't made. I'm kinda torn, I want to see/know what the big twist ending was now as well.

this is just a thought, but maybe the machines kidnap him and create the t1000 to infiltrate the resistance and end up sending him back in time to kill connor

Maybe he will just work on a way to increase the human body: more energy, more stamina, stronger. A side effect could be a cure for diabetes and making you look younger. After injecting himself, he is then captured by Skynet and the T-1000 is modeled after him. Bummer! You cure yourself and then some machine takes you out. Life sucks! :-)

I may try to cap myself here, because I can see myself taking this out of control, but...

Early on in the war diabetics would have had an issue surviving due to a lack of available insulin, so the initial prevalence of them in a population would be drastically reduced. Environmental factors tending towards diabetes (obesity, sedentary lifestyle) would be reduced in a post-apocalyptic situation where food is scarce and running is common. Making an argument in a movie that diabetes was slowing down a war probably wouldn't fly in the face of these facts, so it would have to be a more personal reason for trying to find a cure, such as a son who is dying because there's no pharmacies carrying insulin anymore. Or it could be a story from the past, old research being dug up from just before the war, something to that effect.

But while it's true that you would need all the energy you could get, like I said, I don't see diabetes being as big a problem in the "future" as finding food to feed the majority of the population which wouldn't likely be diabetic.

All that said, I would totally take a liquid metal body over an insulin pump any day...

a cure for diabetes would help alot in the war against the machines, i mean machines dont sleep, eat, or rest so you need all the energy you can get

No, you're right. If you're blood glucose is too high (hyperglycemia) it's because there is no insulin to put sugar into your cells, so they aren't getting the fuel they need, and if you're blood glucose is too low (hypoglycemia) there simply isn't sugar in your system to put into your cells to fuel them.

"Oh no, giant robot! Hey, does anyone have a Gatorade? I'm really sleepy all of a sudden..."

It could add a whole new layer of suspense to the war...

doesnt diabetes cause you to lose energy or something of that matter, which would suck when your fighting a war against killer machines.

ps: sorry if im wrong on that diabetes observation, but i do know those who have diabetes and they lose their energy quickly.

Maybe it has somewthing to do with Marcus and his mysterious origins .
maybe he is a prototype to what the T-100 will eventually become.

lol Gary,

Nah, it wouldn't make sense to kill of Reese like that, and the fans wouldn't accept it.

I'm curious about the new Salvation ending.

McG said Patrick might play a scientist working on diabetes research that help leads to the creation of the T-1000.
Its hard for me to believe a scientist is conductting this research after the skynet takeover has occured .
so, maybe a T- 1000 in disguise kills John or someone close to him ,
prompting another time trip .
we would have a Really interesting sequel if Kyle Reese was killled before he went back to the past and concieved John wouldnt we ?

@ MKeller

It's a good point you make - I have no idea how they'd work that premise into the story (assuming that happens in the future timeline around or after Terminator Salvation's date).

@ Jimmy

McG is the director of Terminator Salvation. Before that, he directed films including the 'Charlies Angels' movies and 'We Are Marshall'

Sounds intruiging.
No Summer Glau though.
No mixing of the TV and Film universes please.