Although the titular android assassins of theTerminatorfranchise obviously don’t age like normal humans,Terminator GenisysandTerminator: Dark Fatecame up with an in-universe excuse to facilitate original star Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comeback.TheTerminatortimelineis messy, to say the least, but this has never stopped the series from consistently bringing back its original leading man, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although Schwarzenegger’s T-800 was the villain of the original movie, he became an unexpectedly heroic figure inTerminator 2: Judgment Dayand remained a more complicated character throughout the rest of the franchise.
Although 2015’s rebootTerminator Genisysrecast Sarah Connor, the movie invented a whole new timeline where a heroic T-800 was sent back to her childhood to protect her so that Schwarzenegger’s Terminator could still play a major role. Forall ofTerminator Genisys’s mistakes, this was an approach that 2019’s next reboot,Terminator: Dark Fate, opted to repeat. This time, Schwarzenegger’s T-800 was a bizarrely repentant former killer who, after terminating John Connor shortly after the events ofTerminator 2: Judgment Day, sought to redeem himself by settling down in the suburbs.
The Outer Covering Of Terminators Is Organic, Not Synthetic
Terminator: Genisys and Dark Fate Revealed That T-800s Age On The Outside
The T-800 models that Schwarzenegger played inTerminator GenisysandTerminator: Dark Fateweren’t the same character fromTerminator 2: Judgment Day, as John Connor learned inTerminator: Dark Fate’s brutal opening kill. The easiest way to tell this is thatboth T-800 models in these movies look visibly older since their real-life actor Arnold Schwarzenegger aged decades between franchise outings.Terminator GenisysandTerminator: Dark Fategot around this issue by clarifying that, although the T-800 itself is made of synthetic materials, its outer coating is entirely organic.
This twist directly contradicted the first two movies in the series, where Schwarzenegger’s character can be seen pulling plastic skin off his metal skeleton at various points.
This means that the T-800 aged like a normal human being on the outside, which conveniently explained away the star’s changing appearance. Of course, it also directly contradicted the first two movies in the series, where Schwarzenegger’s character can be seen pulling plastic skin off his metal skeleton at various points. Instead ofrecasting Schwarzenegger’s Terminator,Terminator GenisysandTerminator: Dark Fateopted to simply rewrite the franchise’s history with this hand-waving solution that doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny.
Terminators Aging Was A Retcon To Justify Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Return
Schwarzenegger’s Comeback Mattered More Than Canonical Consistency
That said, the franchise had already rewritten the rest of its canon numerous times at this point. Whether it was killing off Sarah Connor inTerminator 3: Rise of the Machinesand then bringing her back inTerminator: Dark Fateor inventing a whole new timeline inTerminator Genisys, the series wasn’t overburdened with clear, consistent canon before Schwarzenegger’s return necessitated this particular rewrite. What made the change somewhat ironic was the fact thatTerminator: Dark Fate’s T-800 Carlinspired derision from some critics, who argued the movie might have been better with a new T-800.
Terminator Recast Sarah Connor For The First Time 19 Years Ago (And She Was As Great As The Original)
While the Terminator franchise’s Sarah Connor is Linda Hamilton’s most iconic role, another actor’s incarnation of her was surprisingly successful.
TheTerminatorfranchise doesn’t appear to have a path forward that doesn’t involve bringing back Schwarzenegger’s T-800, which means making up new rules to justify his changing appearance. Netflix’s 2024 animeTerminator Zerodid successfully tell a fresh new story without the original T-800’s involvement, but only time will tell if this affects the franchise’s theatrical offerings. Until then, theTerminatorfranchise will need to keep coming up with workarounds likeTerminator GenisysandTerminator: Dark Fatedid.
