Terminator: Dark Fate, the sixth film in the Terminator franchise (but the third considered to be canon and a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day) was made to bring it back to the center. With the promise of producer James Cameron's direct involvement with the franchise again, as well as the return of its two biggest stars, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the T-800 and Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, the formula for doing so seemed solid.
Dark Fate made references and callbacks to both its predecessors Terminator and Terminator 2, as well as its non-canon successors. It even gave a nod to the television series The Sarah Connor Chronicles. While these were fun Easter Eggs for fans, they failed to make up for a lackluster story, a flat script, and a general feeling of more of the same. That being said, true Terminator fans had fun spotting them throughout the run time. In case you missed any, here are 10 connections to the previous films.
I'll Be Back
"I'll be back." Perhaps the most famous phrase in the entire Terminator franchise, its said in Dark Fate as a throwaway line. It's carried resonance in every other iteration, from Terminator 2 to Salvation, but here it's delivered cavalierly by Sarah Connor. Why? Because she'd have never heard the original line, it would have no significance, and it appears as a small Easter Egg for fans.
Another similar line includes, "Come with me or you're dead," a callback to the line said by both Kyle Reese and the T-800's "Come with me if you want to live" from Terminator and Terminator 2. At one point, Grace even tells Dani that if she puts 100 cops between her and the new Terminator, she'd have 100 dead cops, a reference to the killing spree of the T-800 in Terminator.
Rev-9 Similarities To Other Terminators
Like the T-1000 (played by Robert Patrick) in Terminator 2, the Rev-9 presents as a congenial, "natural" acting human rather than a killer robot. Like the T-1000, he can also alter his shape into a fluid form, and create bladed weaponry to attack humans. Also, like the T-1000, the Rev-9 must touch a person to duplicate them (and then kill them).
The Rev-9 also uses two blades, just like the T-1001 in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. His ability to replicate parts of himself into smaller ancillary parts is a new improvement on the older models and is a welcome change given all the direct references.
The Hotel Room And Carl's Van
There are some pretty subtle callbacks to the first Terminator film in Dark Fate, and, if you're not watching for them, they may not stand out. One occurs when Grace, Dani, and Sarah reach their motel hideout, and Sarah sits back on the bed in the exact same way and position she did when Linda Hamilton played her in the first film.
If you look closely at the side of Carl's van, you'll see a phone number right under the decal that reads "Carl's Draperies." The digits are "888-512-1984," which refer to the exact date when John Connor sent Kyle Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor on May 12th, 1984.
The T-800 Sunglasses (Or Lack Thereof)
Dark Fate features the T-800 model from Terminator 2 for two reasons; it's a direct sequel to the events of that film, and because you can't have a Terminator film without the original Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. In T2, the T-800 famously wore a pair of sunglasses along with his iconic leather jacket, but this T-800 does not.
Going by the name of "Carl," he opts not to wear the signature shades to indicate his humanity. He was the only T-800 model that successfully fulfilled its mission and killed John Connor before he could start the Resistance. We may not see the sunglasses, but we do get the classic red Terminator vision.
Grace's Callbacks To The T-800 And Kyle Reese
In classic Terminator style, Grace appears to protect Dani completely naked. She goes through a similar introduction as the T-800 did in the biker bar in Terminator 2, sizing up potential threats while she sizes up their clothing. Ultimately, her look isn't as iconic as his, but she goes about it the same way, seen from the perspective of the same red and black Terminator vision.
She also repeats a few similar lines from the T-800, such as calculating probabilities the way he did in Terminator 2 at the behest of an inquisitive John Connor. She also repeats a line from Kyle Reese (whom she never met) "No fate but what we make.".
T-800's Learning Capabilities
In an extended scene from Terminator 2, we learn that Terminators can be altered to learn by removing a chip from inside the cranial cavity and turning a certain switch "on" before replacing it. John Connor does this to the T-800, though we don't see it.
In Dark Fate, the T-800 we encounter, Carl, seems to have had a similar procedure done to him. Unlike "Pops," the Guardian model in Genisys, Carl is able to pass himself off as a human because he's learned to speak and act like one. Whether it was done by someone else or by Skynet before they sent him back to kill John Connor is unclear, but his newfound humanity makes him an aid to Sarah Connor and the Human Resistance.
Throwback Action Sequences
As Dark Fate is a direct sequel to Terminator 2, it's not surprising there are some callbacks to the earlier film, but some of the action sequences are so similar as to be direct copies. For instance, there's a freeway chase scene, and the Rev-9 steals a chopper like the T-1000 does to go after Dani, Grace, and Sarah.
Sarah also sustains a shoulder injury as she did in T2, and audiences get to see yet another Terminator sink into some boiling lava. The T-800 loses all the synthetic skin on his left arm, again like T2. At one point, the song from the biker bar in T2 even plays over an action sequence. Original moments in the film seem few and far between.
References To T3
Though the references and callbacks in Dark Fate are mostly to the first Terminator films, there are a few references to the other films, which are now considered "non-canon. The first reference is to T3: Rise of the Machines, wherein a T-850 model returns from the future to help an older John Connor. He's a slightly improved version of the T-800 model John knew as a boy. It's a similar model of Terminator that kills John Connor in the opening scene of the film.
Another reference to T3 arrives when a power source is used to kill the Rev-9, the same way that a power source was used by the T-850 to kill the Terminatrix in T3. The Rev-9 is similar to the T-X in the sense that it's more agile, and has the ability to change its form.
Reference To Terminator Salvation
Next to Genisys, Terminator: Salvation is the most maligned film in the Terminator franchise. While it started out promising with a strong cast led by Christian Bale as John Connor, it failed to live up to the hype of what fans imagined the future of the Human Resistance would look like.
Dark Fate references Salvation directly in that its dystopian future resembles what fans remember from the film, complete with the same flying machines and piles of skulls and human remains everywhere. There's also a Terminator human hybrid, just like in Salvation.
References To The Sarah Connor Chronicles
The Sarah Connor Chronicles only lasted a few seasons starring a pre-Game of Thrones Lena Headey, but it was very popular among fans of the franchise. It's referenced here by way of Carl, who has found love (such as he can) and settled down to lead an idyllic life.
The Sarah Connor Chronicles had a Terminator get married, albeit for infiltration purposes, but it set the precedent for what a Terminator model could do outside of being a killing machine. One of the writers on The Sarah Connor Chronicles also joined the bloated writing team of Dark Fate.