‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ Will Continue John Connor’s Story, James Cameron Says
It was the question on everyone’s lips after the first trailer forTerminator: Dark Fatehit: Where is John Connor? The prophesied leader of the resistance against a war against Skynet and the savior of the world is seemingly nowhere to be seen in the newestTerminatorfilm, despite the return of familiar franchise facesLinda Hamiltonas Sarah Connor andArnold Schwarzeneggeras the T-800 cyborg.
But producer and franchise creatorJames Cameronassures that a connection betweenTerminator: Dark Fateand John Connor still exists. In fact, despite the future resistance leader’s notable non-appearance,Terminator: Dark Fatewill be a continuation of John Connor’s story.
In an interview on Flicks and the City (viaJoBlo), Cameron explained thatTerminator: Dark Fatewill be continuing John Connor’s story fromTerminator 2: Judgment Day, for whichDark Fateplays as a direct sequel:
“I think the best way to think about Terminator: Dark Fate is to think about it as a direct sequel to Terminator 2, the third film in a series if you will. We’ll be continuing John’s story, with Sarah’s story, and the T-800 returns — a different T-800 with a very different role to play than what we’ve seen before.”
The last time we saw John in this continuity, he was a pint-sized rebel played byEdward Furlong, whose mother (Hamilton) had been long preparing him for the robot apocalypse. We see Hamilton in her sunglass-wearing, shotgun-wielding glory inTerminator: Dark Fate, now teaming up with a female cyborg (Mackenzie Davis) sent to protect a young woman named Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes), but her all-important son is strangely absent. It’s unknown why Skynet is targeting Dani instead of their favorite target, John Connor, though that will presumably be explained in the film.
Tim MillerdirectsTerminator: Dark Fate, which ignores the filmsTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation, andTerminator: Genisysand picks up 30 years after the events ofT2. In contrast to the big-budget spectacle of the latter films, Cameron promises thatDark Fatewill resemble the gritty, violent action of the first twoTerminatorfilms as well, promising a hard-R tone:
In addition to Hamilton and Schwarzenegger,Dark Fatealso stars Mackenzie Davis as Grace, “a soldier-assassin sent from the future to protect Dani Ramos from a new Terminator”;Gabriel Lunaas “a liquid metal Terminator with the ability to split into two separate units, sent to terminate Dani Ramos”; Natalia Reyes as “Dani Ramos, a young woman targeted for termination by the new Terminator”; andDiego Bonetaas Miguel Ramos, Dani’s brother.
