Terminator Genisys introduces a new Terminator timeline in which John Connor’s role in the war against Skynet is vastly different from the original films. Despite its simple premise, the first Terminator’s time travel storyline was complex enough to create quite a few headscratchers. From then on, each time a Terminator or human was sent back in time, a different timeline was created. Terminator Genisys continued that tradition, now using it as a way to reboot the Terminator franchise in-universe.
Genisys was the first Terminator movie since Terminator: Salvation, which had been a critical and commercial failure. Between the disappointing Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and the overly complicated Terminator Salvation, the Terminator franchise needed a fresh start. Genisys had all the tools for it happens, as it combined classic elements from the Terminator movies with a very different Terminator timeline in which John Connor goes back in time as an evil Terminator.
How Skynet Turned John Connor Into A T-3000 in Terminator Genisys
Though Terminator Genisys is a reboot that establishes a new timeline within the Terminator universe, a lot of the events up until when Kyle Reese is sent back in time are quite similar to the ones from the original timeline. John Connor is still the leader of the resistance, Kyle Reese is a trustful soldier who John believes can complete the mission of protecting Sarah Connor, and Skynet is aware that the Connors are their greatest enemies. Apart from having a T-1000 sent to kill Sarah Connor when she was just nine, the biggest deviation in the Genisys timeline comes right after John sends Kyle to the past.
Among the many additions Terminator Genisys brought to the franchise, one was that Skynet – now based on more modern AIs – could have a physical body. Matt Smith played Alex in Terminator Genisys, a T-5000 that served as the physical manifestation of Skynet. It is not too clear how exactly Matt Smith’s Terminator character works, although it is likely that this AI-based Skynet could take over whatever cybertronic body it wanted. The T-5000 Skynet infiltrated the resistance as Alex, having then the perfect opportunity to attack John Connor whenever his guard was down. Alex managed to capture John Connor when Kyle Reese was being set back in time.
John Connor was turned into a T-3000 by Skynet, a new addition to the long list of types of Terminators. The difference between T-3000 unities and all Terminator models is that the former was created based on real humans’ bodies, turning someone into a Terminator, whereas all other models were entirely cybernetic. Terminator Genisys introduces a new Skynet tech, the Machine-Phase matter, which was essentially Skynet nanotech. These Machine particles were responsible for taking over John Connor’s body and conscience, turning humanity’s greatest soldier into a Terminator. Still, T-3000 John had access to all of the original John’s memories, making it even more dangerous.
John Connor's New Skynet Plan In Terminator Genisys Explained
In the original Terminator timeline, the one before Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 is sent to kill Sarah Connor, Skynet’s launch day is a mystery. After both the T-800 and Kyle Resse change the timeline by going into the past, leading to the Terminator 2 timeline, it is known that Sknyet takes over the world in 1997. Lastly, following the events of Terminator 2, Skynet’s origins are moved to 2004, catching up with the events of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Terminator Genisys adds a fourth version for when and how Skynet was created, now in the form of an operating system for computers, tablets, and smartphones.
In the Terminator Genisys timeline, John Connor and the Resistance won the war against Skynet in 2029, taking over and destroying the machines’ base, Skynet Core. With this twist, Skynet’s time travel plan could no longer be just about assuring its creation – if Skynet’s origins remained unaltered, John Connor would eventually destroy them in 2029. Therefore, Skynet’s mission in Genisys became making sure that a slightly different version of their system, the Genisys system, would be created. With Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese, and the "Pops T-800" working to prevent the Genisys launch, T-3000 John Connor was sent to 2014 to make sure they would fail.
Why Evil John Connor Was Killed By Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800
John Connor as Sarah and Kyle knew him died after Alex attacked him. Though John’s body and memories were still there, he had become nothing but a vessel for Skynet thanks to the machine's liquid particles. Presumably, there was no way for John Connor to be saved. Sarah Connor had no choice but to fight against her own son, otherwise, John would have succeeded in guaranteeing the launch of the Genisys system. In the movie’s climatic battle, Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 ended up destroying the evil John Connor, a drastic change compared to the pre-reboot Terminator timeline.
In terms of the story, killing a future John Connor before Judgment Day even happened was a perfect way to show how different this version of the Terminator universe would be. John Connor as a character had set the narrative for all Terminator movies up until that point, with Terminator: Salvation following Christian Bale’s John Connor as the main character. Simply recycling the story of “John Conner’s existence must be assured” may not have worked for a reboot, which is why Terminator Genisys made John Connor into a villain and then killed him off.
How John Connor In Terminator Genisys Changed The Terminator Timeline
Interestingly, despite being a major difference compared to the original Terminator movies, John Connor’s fate in Terminator Genisys is only the final addition to an already long list of changes that completely separate the Genisys timeline from early ones. Two major events truly set the Terminator Genisys timeline apart from the others – the Resistance’s victory against the classic Skynet in 2029 and the fact that a T-800 was sent to protect Sarah Conner when she was 9. The Resistance’s victory led to Skynet having to reinvent itself as the Genisys system, which would only be launched in 2014, whereas Sarah’s entire story changes with the T-800's arrival in 1973.
Sarah, Kyle, and the T-800 managed to prevent Genisys from being launched in 2014 and taking over the world, yet Skynet continued to exist. A holographic Alex, which is assumed to be another manifestation of Skynet, appeared during the Terminator Genisys ending, confirming that the fight was not over yet. A Terminator Genisys sequel never happened, though, leaving the future of that timeline forever unresolved. In fact, whether John Connor would even be born now following the events of Genisys is also a mystery. Had a Terminator Genisys sequel happened, it would most likely have moved on from John Connor entirely.
John Connor's Terminator Genisys Story Was Retconned By Dark Fate
Terminator Genisys was not successful enough to relaunch the Terminator franchise, both in terms of box office and critical reception. A sixth Terminator movie eventually happened, Terminator: Dark Fate, but with no ties to Terminator Genisys. In fact, Terminator: Dark Fate ignored Rise of the Machines, Salvation, and Genisys, working as a direct sequel to Terminator 2. James Cameron was directly involved in Terminator: Dark Fate, which promised to bring the franchise back on track after previous failures. Dark Fate took place mostly in the present-day world, but it had a very important flashback set right after Terminator 2.
Dark Fate reveals that, after Sarah and John saved the day in Terminator 2, they did not have time to celebrate. A second Arnold Schwarzenegger T-800, not the one who died at the end of Terminator 2, had been sent by Skynet and was serving as a sleeper agent. T-800’s Terminator mission was activated after the T-1000 failed in killing John, once again putting the life of Sarah Connor’s son in danger. This T-800 killed John Connor in Dark Fate, meaning that, from now on, a Resistance led by John would never happen. Instead, Dani Ramos would rise up as humanity’s leader in a very different future from Terminator Genisys.