The timeline-altering action of Terminator Genisys is ready to hit theaters with its release next week. Yet it seems that in effort to prove that the film will defy expectations, the latest marketing strategy evokes some of the recent praise bestowed by the franchise’s father, James Cameron.
At this point in the extensive buildup for Genisys, it’s likely that we’ve been shown everything that the creative/marketing team has wanted us to see. Indeed, for the most part, this particular TV spot isn’t exactly ripe with revelations. However, it does seek to engage your interest by quoting some recent comments from the writer/director of the legendary first two Terminator films. The ad is adorned with adulations like, "Terminator has been reinvigorated." Perhaps, more interestingly, Cameron is quoted as saying, "The twist is more than you expected."
A few months back, in a seemingly perplexing publicity move, Genisys essentially revealed its "twist" regarding the status of John Connor (Jason Clarke) as a Terminator/human hybrid of sorts. Cameron got a chance to catch a screening of the movie a few weeks back and, after making it clear that he had no creative involvement whatsoever with the film that might taint his objectivity, he went on to bestow it with high praise. He has applauded the John Connor twist in his initial assessment, but this particular quote, in further qualifying it as "more than you expected," comes across as rather provocative, regarding any further plot developments.
Here’s where we get out our handy-dandy tinfoil hats to start speculating. Cameron’s comment on the twist might be corroborated with recent comments from Arnold Schwarzenegger regarding the rather awkward familial relationship between Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), Arnold’s Guardian Terminator and, her future "chosen one" son, John Connor. Arnold reveals that John, despite becoming a cybernetic monstrosity, is actually on a mission to protect his mother. While it could be simply rooted in self-interest, since his existence in the timeline requires that he be conceived with father, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), and actually be born, Schwarzenegger hints at a reluctant partnership between Guardian and John that might just indicate that the nature of his role might be the element of the twist that Cameron hinted was "more than you expected."
Of course, all this speculation will certainly be put to the hard test soon enough with the film’s impending release. Yet, for James Cameron, who has certainly aimed more than his fair share of scathing critiques towards the franchise iterations that followed his classic films, his opinion of this new movie is a clear source of optimism for the film’s chances. It looks to blow away fans, both new and old, putting the traditional story we know through an apparently imaginative new lens.
Terminator Genisys unleashes some Cameron-approved carnage upon the hapless populace when it hits theaters on July 1.
