Here was Sarah Connor's planned role in Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, including how the character died. Linda Hamilton made Sarah one of cinema's most iconic female action heroes. The character started in Terminator as a normal woman who finds herself targeted by a cyborg assassin sent from the future, and who wants to kill her before she gives birth to the future leader of the human resistance. By Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Sarah was a hardened survivor haunted by the impending end of the world.

Terminator 2 ended with the apocalypse seemingly canceled, with the character's voiceover indicating she - and her young son John - can finally look forward to the future. Hamilton ultimately passed on Terminator 3 as she felt it did little to further Sarah's journey. She later proved a voiceover cameo for the fourth movie, but finally returning for 2019's Terminator: Dark Fate, where she proved to be a highlight in an otherwise disappointing legacy sequel.

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In explaining why she passed on Terminator 3, Hamilton cited the lack of character evolution and the fact Sarah was killed off around the midway point. In the final movie, John is revealed to have been living off the grid, while Sarah died of leukemia years before. Her presence lingers over the film, but in the original Tedi Sarafian draft, Sarah was an active part of the story. The script is broadly similiar to the final movie, though the role played by Kate Brewster (Claire Danes) is largely filled by Sarah - aside from the romance with John, of course.

Sarah Connor Linda Hamilton 2019 Option 2

In this Terminator 3 script, John has tried to put the past behind him as he believes the Skynet apocalypse was successfully averted. Sarah, on the other hand, does not and the two have become estranged. She's still an outsider leaving with a band of mercenaries, while John works for a computer company. He soon finds himself chased by a female terminator dubbed the T1-G, whose abilities include being able to turn invisible and read minds, to an extent. Sarah and the new Terminator save John from her and a chase ensues.

Like the final film, they learn Judgment Day is imminent as Skynet has become sentient. This take on Terminator 3 is mostly John's story, and while Sarah has some fun moments and lines, it's easy to see why Hamilton felt it was retreading old ground while adding little that was new. That said, she and John get to share an emotional scene before the final act kicks into high gear. Sarah's death scene would likely have angered fans though, with the T1-G holding her by the neck to prevent John blasting Skynet in the finale. Realizing his mother is doomed no matter what happens, he shoots at Skynet and the terminator breaks Sarah's neck before it "discards her like a used Kleenex.

While Hamilton said Sarah's Terminator 3 death happened midway in the screenplay, it's in the final ten pages of the Sarafian draft, though it's possible she read a different version. The script was eventually reworked to bring the budget down, which included giving the T-X less extravagant abilities and replacing Sarah's role with Kate Brewster.

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