SPOILER ALERT: Do not read any further if you don't want to know plot details of "Terminator Salvation." Seriously! You've been warned!
"Terminator Salvation" thrilled millions of moviegoers with its intense depiction of a post-Judgment Day reality. It also confused the heck out of even the most loyal followers of the franchise, who have followed the complicated "Terminator" timeline for decades and now have all-new questions about how well the series' logic holds up.
With that in mind, MTV News had fans submit questions to the MTV Movies Blog and took them straight to "Salvation" director McG. Here are some fan-submitted Q&A snipits from MTV News‘ interview.
Q: In the earlier movies, Skynet is not aware of Kyle Reese. So, why are they aware of him now?
McG: It’s a function of their recon during the dark period, and a function of their awareness of the events that had happened since Kyle Reese traveled back. By virtue of John Connor being alive, that means Kyle Reese did meet Sarah Connor and impregnate her. That data exists, and was brought into the fold at Skynet.
Q: If Kyle Reese had been killed in “Salvation,” what would’ve happened to John Connor? Would he simply cease to exist?
McG: Will he be erased in the photograph, like in “Back to the Future”? That’s an excellent question that theorists have been bandying about for the ages. We play it more simply. Kyle Reese must be kept alive, so he can be sent back in time from 2029 to protect Sarah Connor, impregnate her and she’ll give birth to John Connor who will save us all. And the simplest way to understand that is to protect the triangle of Kyle, John and Sarah. Any deconstruction of that leads to more headache than satisfaction.
Q: How come lava melted a T-800 in “T2,” but it doesn’t in “Salvation”?
McG: That’s not lava. There are different characteristics of molten steels, and that was an earlier steel process after it had been separated from the coke. We went over this with a metallurgist, discussing which metals burn at which degrees. And also, if it had stayed on [the T-800], perhaps it would’ve melted him, but it was frozen quickly enough by the [liquid nitrogen]. Plus, we make the transition from the molten metal to the cooling property so quickly — as a function of the T-800 being on [John] Connor — that it wouldn’t have had time to melt the existing titanium exoskeleton in time.
Q: When Marcus is inside Skynet and learning about how he was created, the visage of Dr. Serena Kogan mentions that he’s managed to do something that none of the other Terminators have been able to. Is Skynet aware of the alternate futures and other events that have taken place?
McG: Skynet is aware of the alternate futures, and the way that we play it is in the spirit of parallel worlds, as theorized by Einstein. We try to pay attention to that approach to a fundamentally theoretical construct. So yes, they are aware of the other attempts on the life of John Connor, and they’ve always subscribed to a bigger-gun philosophy, from the T-800 to the T-1000 to the TX. Now they’ve decided to bring in a machine with enough humanity in it to properly infiltrate the Resistance and lure John Connor to their lair. That’s why Serena speaks of thinking differently, thinking radically.
Q: At the end of the film, is John Connor ever made aware that Marcus was an infiltration unit? Or does the secret die with him?
McG: That’s an interesting question. But I think it’s of very little consequence. What Connor is focused on [at the end of the movie] is that Marcus did come through for him and Kyle Reese. It wasn’t clear, when he gave his word at the riverside, whether that was an example of Skynet using the best of ourselves against us…his action transcends the question, if you follow me.
As I said, these are just a few choice snipits from the Q&A. For more answers to some Terminator Salvation plot and continuity questions (Will John Connor still be killed by a “T-850″ as hinted in "T3"? And what did Marcus do, exactly, to end up on death row?), you can check out MTV News‘ full Q&A session with McG by either going here or here.
In the end though, it doesn’t matter how well McG fills the plot holes of "Terminator Salvation." We, as the audience, shouldn’t ever have to sift through blogs for these answers - the answers should be clear and stated within the context of the film. Period. The less guess work your audience is left with, the better.
Do you like the answers about "T4" that McG is providing, or do you feel that the movie is solely responsible for filling in all the blanks?
"Terminator Salvation" is currently in theaters.
Sources: Screen Rant, MTV News (1,2)
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
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2 comments:
Wow, this actually answered alot of my questions, and some I didn't even think of! Further, it also melds the 4th movie with not only the previous trilogy, but the TV show as well.
My question for McG? That strange woman with the prisoners from the gas station. The camera alludes that she may have some connection to the resistance. An elderly Sarah perhaps?
We never do see a body in T3, and since she was only like 20 in 1984, that would put here at about 70-ish, which seems about right.
That was something I didn't think of.
In T3 they say she died of leukemia and in the Sarah Connor Chronicles I remember they bring it up by having her visit a doctor to catch her disease early.
Having her survive is an interesting possibility that will hopefully be brought up in T5.
(If she was 20 in 1984...then in 2018 she would be about...54...if my math is correct....
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