Old recordings of Sarah Connor are played in the film, with lines nearly word-for-word from The Terminator (1984). Linda Hamilton voiced the lines herself in an uncredited role.

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The only film in the series not to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was unavailable due to serving as the Governor of California at the time. Instead, bodybuilder Roland Kickinger was used for T-800’s brief appearance, with Schwarzenegger’s likeness digitally superimposed.

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Special effects wizard Stan Winston died during filming (15 Jun 2008), making this the last film he provided visual effects for.

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(at around 28 mins) The trick with keeping a shotgun attached around the arm that Marcus shows Kyle Reese, is used by the older Kyle Reese played by Michael Biehn at the beginning of the original The Terminator (1984), after he saws off the butt to shorten the shotgun he stole from the police squad car.

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Helena Bonham Carter lost four members of her family in a car crash. As a result, filming was halted indefinitely so she could return to the UK to tend to her family.

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(at around 38 mins) At the 7-11 hideout, Kyle Reese can be seen eating what appears to be a Twinkie, which is jokingly referred to as a food item that can endure forever without going stale.

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Christian Bale later stated that when he was approached for the film, he expressed the same concerns to director McG that the Terminator fan-base was expressing about him taking over the franchise. Bale told him that “nothing in your (McG) filmography suggests that you have what it takes to do this movie properly.” McG ultimately convinced Bale to give him a chance, so he could “evolve” as a director. As of 2014, Bale admitted that the film “didn’t work”, insinuating that it was ultimately McG who blew it. He also stated that he would never work with McG ever again, although he wished him well. However, in an 2018 interview, he blamed script problems for the film’s inability to reinvigorate the franchise. According to Bale, writer Jonathan Nolan was asked to rewrite the script and had conceived a “wonderful” story, but due to the writer’s strike, he was called away to a prior commitment, and was unable to implement most of his ideas. Nolan therefore remained uncredited for the finished film.

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Terry Crews was cast as Captain Jericho but his scenes ended up being cut from the final film. However, Crews is still visible in one scene as a dead body left in the aftermath of a battle.

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Michael Ironside accepted his role in the movie, despite having just broken three vertebrae in a roofing accident. Notice that throughout the movie, he never sits down, because of the intense pain.

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During filming in the summer of 2008, Christian Bale yelled and used profanity at cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, who was adjusting a light in the background and constantly walking in the background looking at the lights during each take while Bale was doing an intense scene and got distracted by the cinematographer. Bale’s tirade was then leaked on the Internet. After it was leaked, Bale publicly apologized for his remarks and said that he and Hurlbut are on good terms and the two patched things up that day.

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As of 2010, it remains the most expensive independently-financed (non-studio) feature with the budget close to $200 million.

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Director McG actually went to visit James Cameron who was working in New Zealand on Avatar (2009) to gain insights respecting the mythology of the first two films. It was then that Cameron recommended his art director Martin Laing to work as a production designer and Sam Worthington to play Marcus.

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Was intended to be the first of a new Terminator “Future War Trilogy”, all done by McG, but the film’s poor performance and reception led to the next two films being canceled. Instead, the franchise rights were transferred to a different production company, and a new trilogy was planned to begin with Terminator Genisys (2015). This did not materialize either, again due to a combination of critical and commercial failure.

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Earlier drafts of the script written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris focused a lot more on just Marcus Wright, Kyle Reese and Star, with John Connor making an appearance in the last few scenes. Christian Bale was first offered the role of Marcus but took more interest in the character of John Connor, so rewrites took place to give him more of a substantial role throughout the film.

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Director McG asked the cast and crew to read the novel “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy and “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick – the basis for Blade Runner (1982) – because he wanted them to absorb the bleakness of the world in the novels. The film version of The Road was released a few months after this film, in December 2009.

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Marcus, Kyle and Star all travel to Griffith Park Observatory to find a usable vehicle, which is the same place where the T-800 arrives in the first film in 1984.

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(at around 25 mins) In the original The Terminator (1984) Kyle Reese asks the police “What day is it? What year?” And one of the first things Marcus Wright says to Kyle Reese is “What day is it? What year?”.

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To prepare for the role of Kyle, Anton Yelchin studied Michael Biehn‘s performance in the first movie a few times to get the character’s mannerisms and characteristics

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(at around 20 mins) The first recording that John Connor listens to of his mother is an edited version of the recording that she makes at the end of the first Terminator. Moments before the picture that he has and eventually gives to Kyle Reese is taken.

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This is the first “Terminator” film not to feature Earl Boen, who played a doubting psychiatrist, Dr. Peter Silberman, in the earlier films.

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Being released in 2009, this film marks the 25th anniversary of The Terminator (1984)

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(at around 23 mins) The third Terminator film to have the line, “Come with me if you want to live.” In The Terminator (1984), Kyle Reese says it to Sarah Connor at the Tech-Noir club. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), the Terminator says it to Sarah Connor when they first meet at the mental institution. In ‘Salvation’ Kyle Reese says it to Marcus Wright when they first meet. In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), a paraphrased version of this line (“Do you wanna live? Come on!”) is spoken by John Connor to Kate Brewster when he and the T-850 rescue her in the graveyard. “Come with me if you want to live” is also spoken by Cameron in the pilot episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008), when rescuing the teenage John Connor from the ‘Cromartie’ T-888. In Terminator Genisys (2015) it was also used by Sarah Connor when she rescues Kyle Reese.

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Despite prominent billing, Helena Bonham Carter only gets five minutes of screentime. Her role was supposed to be more extensive, even having her appear as a cyborg, but it was scaled down substantially in subsequent re-writes.

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Assuming there is small margin of error between the “correct” and “alternate” time lines of the previous films, this installment takes place about 11 and a half years (2018) before the events leading up to the first (2029).

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(at around 1h 13 mins) The river bank used for the napalm strike during Marcus’ escape was part of a one-mile man-made river because environmental officials present during the production would not allow them to use the existing river.

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In several scenes, Kyle can be seen wearing Nike shoes. They are strikingly similar to the Nike Vandals Reese wore in The Terminator (1984).

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After Claire Danes declined to reprise her role as Kate Brewster, Charlotte Gainsbourg was cast, but pulled out due to a scheduling conflict with another film. She was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard.

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In the opening scene, Marcus is executed by lethal injection using a very accurate prop based on the execution machine developed by engineer Fred A. Leuchter Jr.. As of the release date, this system is only used by four states, mostly due to problems adapting the drug delivery rate for different individuals.

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Dedicated to the memory of Stan Winston.

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As of January 2016, this is the only Terminator movie not to depict any time travel, although it is briefly alluded to. In an early script version, Marcus uses a Time Displacement Device to travel back a few hours in order to save someone, but this was later written out.

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In early 2008, Paul Haggis was brought on to polish the script. After he was done, three weeks before filming, Shawn Ryan was asked to rewrite the script, and he took “a pretty big whack” at it. However, he later had to return to television, and the filmmakers “subsequently brought in one or two other writers to continue the work,” most likely Anthony E. Zuiker and Jonathan Nolan. So extensive were the rewrites that Alan Dean Foster decided to rewrite the entire novelization after submitting it to his publisher, because the compiled shooting script was very different from the one he was given beforehand.

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(at around 6 mins) Just before Connor sets down his helicopter to infiltrate the research facility, the target camera of an incoming rocket indicates the facilities location to be N36° 17’39” E117° 15’25”. According to these coordinates the facility is located in China, approximately 350km south of Bejing. (See also Goofs)

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(at around 1h 21 mins) The song “You Could Be Mine” by Guns N’ Roses appears in the film. The song was previously used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).

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Star has no dialogue and doesn’t say anything throughout the movie, due to the character being mute. In her backstory, Star is mute due to being traumatized over Judgment Day. In the original screenplay by John Brancato and Michael Ferris before it was re-written, Star is only a few years younger than Kyle. They know each other from the day-care center before Judgment Day happened. Star can talk but can’t remember her name, so they simply named her after the star on her cap.

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(at around 1h 35 mins) The silver-looking machine where the nuclear fuel cells are stored at the Skynet factory is actually a piece of equipment from a semiconductor manufacturing plant, an SVG 90-S coater/developer for silicon wafers.

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Christian Bale is one of eight actors to play John Connor. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), the adult John Connor was played by Michael Edwards, the teenage John Connor was played by Edward Furlong and the infant John Connor (who appeared during Sarah Connor’s dream sequence of the nuclear attack) was played by Dalton Abbott. Nick Stahl played the fourth John Connor in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). Thomas Dekker played John Connor in the TV series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008), with John De Vito playing a younger John in a flashback. Jason Clarke succeeded Bale in the role for Terminator Genisys (2015).

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Helena Bonham Carter replaced Tilda Swinton shortly before filming was set to begin. She filmed her role in 10 days.

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Sam Worthington signed onto the film after finishing work on Avatar (2009) and was recommended to McG by Terminator creator James Cameron for the role of Marcus Wright.

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(at around 3 mins) The consent form Marcus Wright signs reads “Cyberdyne Systems Genetics Division San Francisco, California Donor Informed Consent Willed Body Release”.

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The first Terminator film to receive a PG-13 rating (the previous films were R). According to director McG, he never aimed for a specific rating, and simply shot the movie the way he intended, with full support from the studio. The film was initially rated R, but they found that by deleting just one scene where Marcus (Sam Worthington) injures a couple of thugs, they could get a PG-13 rating. Reasoning that The Dark Knight (2008) had been released the previous year with a PG-13 rating without feeling compromised in any way, they decided that the lower rating was appropriate. Another scene that was omitted was a topless scene for Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood) that felt a bit gratuitous. Both scenes were restored in the extended edition of the movie, which received an R rating.

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Several shots focus on the feet of the characters. This is a trademark of director James Cameron, who made the first two Terminator films.

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This is the first film in which John Connor and his father Kyle Reese have appeared together (if one disregards the special edition of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), where Kyle Reese makes an appearance in a dream sequence that was deleted from the theatrical version).

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The film’s look is based on Technicolor’s OZ (Olson-Zacharias) process, which adds three times more silver to the negative film stock, making it milkier without affecting the grain structure. Although the process was tested in pre-production, it wasn’t actually used. Instead, its look was mimicked in the digital intermediate process.

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Shipped to theaters under the code name “Project Angel”. This was also the name of the Terminator research project in the film, as well as the fake name filming took place under.

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Although Bale apologized to the public on various talk shows, he also said he was angry at the crew for recording this information and releasing it to the public: “In his first interview since the tirade three months ago, Bale admitted that he “went overboard” but accused the people who recorded and distributed the clip of betraying his “creative trust”. Speaking to the magazine Total Film,he added: “It’s not in any way a trust that’s there to cover up bad behaviour. It’s not about that. It’s an essential trust that’s needed for creativity.”‘

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(at around 32 mins) The song that plays when Marcus Wright starts the truck in LA is ‘Rooster’ by Alice in Chains. The song was written by guitarist Jerry Cantrell about his father’s experiences in Vietnam (Rooster was Jerry Cantrell, Sr.’s nickname), and the opening line, “Ain’t found a way to kill me yet” parallels the movie from John Connor’s perspective, with the machines as yet unsuccessful in their numerous attempts to kill him.

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At one point, the film carried the subtitle “The Future Begins.” Coincidentally, the film Star Trek (2009) (which opened weeks before this movie) used the same saying as a tagline. Actor Anton Yelchin appears in both films.

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(at around 1h 20 mins) Before leaving on his mission to rescue Kyle Reese, John Connor (Christian Bale) tells his wife, “I’ll be back.” This line was used by the T-800 Terminators (both played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) in The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Schwarzenegger’s T-850 uses a variation of the line: “I’m back!”

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(at around 22 mins) The appearance of the clown mascot for the abandoned toy factory is based on serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who entertained children as “Pogo the Clown.”

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(at around 1h 21 mins) After John Connor captures a Moto-Terminator, he skids and takes off on it in the same manner that the T-800 / T-850 took of in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) respectively.

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Principal photography took place over 77 days.

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In the original film Kyle Reese tells Sarah Connor that the human resistance only attacked the machines at night and laid low during the day. In this film, John Connor and the human resistance fight the machines during the day.

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Josh Brolin was asked to play Marcus Wright, but he turned it down.

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(at around 24 mins) In one scene, we see Marcus snatching the shotgun from Kyle. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), the T-800 grabs a shotgun from a bar owner in the same manner.

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Michael Papajohn, who played a paramedic in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), appears in this movie as Carnahan, the leader of the gang who harasses Blair.

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The film takes place in 2003 and 2018.

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John Connor and Marcus both use a Sony UX which is the small hand-held PDA device they receive information through and use as an interface to some of the systems, this is a micro PC with a 4.5in screen and weighing just over 1lb.

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Here is a transcript of the now infamous Bale Rant; which occurred during the filming of this movie: Christian Bale: Am I going to walk around and rip your ——- lights down, in the middle of a scene? Then why the —- are you walking right through? Ah-da-da-dah, like this in the background. What the —- is it with you? What don’t you ——- understand? You got any ——- idea about, hey, it’s ——- distracting having somebody walking up behind Bryce in the middle of the ——- scene? Give me a ——- answer! What don’t you get about it? Shane Hurlbut: I was looking at the light. Bale: Ohhhhh, goooood for you. And how was it? I hope it was ——- good, because it’s useless now, isn’t it? Hurlbut: OK. Bale: —– sake man, you’re amateur. McG, you got ——- something to say to this p—-? Director Joseph ‘McG’ McGinty Nichol: I didn’t see it happen. Bale: Well, somebody should be ——- watching and keeping an eye on him. McG: Fair enough. Bale: It’s the second time that he doesn’t give a —- about what is going on in front of the camera, all right? I’m trying to ——- do a scene here, and I am going “Why the —- is Shane walking in there? What is he doing there?” Do you understand my mind is not in the scene if you’re doing that? Hurlbut: I absolutely apologise. I’m sorry, I did not mean anything by it. Bale: Stay off the ——- set man. For —– sake. Alright, let’s go again. McG: Let’s just take a minute. Bale: Let’s not take a ——- minute, let’s go again. Bale: I’m going to ——- kick your ——- ass if you don’t shut up for a second! All right? Unknown voices: Christian, Christian. It’s cool. Bale: I’m going to go… Do you want me to ——- go trash your lights? Do you want me to ——- trash ’em? Then why are you trashing my scene? Hurlbut: I’m not trying to trash your scene. Bale: You are trashing my scene! Hurlbut: Christian, I was only… Bale: You do it one more ——- time and I ain’t walking on this set if you’re still hired. I’m ——- serious. You’re a nice guy. You’re a nice guy, but that don’t ——- cut it when you’re ——- around like this on set.

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(at around 22 mins) The Terminator stepping on and crushing a human skull in the scene which Kyle Reese meets and saves Marcus Wright is a nod to the opening future battle sequence in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) during which a Terminator is seen stepping on and crushing a human skull.

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Star was speculated to be the female rebel soldier who is killed in the flashback sequence in The Terminator (1984).

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During the title sequence the camera focuses on each letter of the title before the words “Terminator” and “Salvation” intersect with each other. This is similar to the intro from The Terminator (1984).

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This was the first (and so far, only) “Terminator” film to be released in the same decade as the previous one. Terminator Genisys would be released six years later, in 2015. Terminator: Dark Fate is set for release in 2019, which would be the second to be released in the same decade as its predecessor.

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A fan campaign uses the hashtag #ReleaseTheMcGCut to convince film companies to release the movie’s original ending.

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Each Terminator film has been produced under a different company. The Terminator (1984) was produced by Hemdale and went through Orion, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) went through Carolco and Tri-Star (which was owned by Columbia), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) was produced by C-2 Pictures and distributed through both Warner Bros. (Domestic release) and Columbia Pictures (international release), and ‘Salvation’ was produced by The Halcyon Company and distributed through both Warner Bros. (Domestic release) and Columbia Pictures (international release).

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The name of Helena Bonham Carter‘s character is derived from Serena Burnes, a character in the novel ‘T2: Infiltrator’, written by S.M. Stirling.

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The film was released the same year as the cancellation of the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008).

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(at around 3 mins) When Dr. Serena Kogan comes into Marcus’ cell, her pen has a soft tip – entrance regulations when talking to a prisoner.

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(at around 24 mins) The shotgun Kyle initially has and is taken away from him by Marcus is a Mossberg 500 typically used for door breaching. Standoff muzzle devices set breaching shotguns apart from the rest and are the giveaway feature.

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Bryce Dallas Howard had recently given birth to her son Theo so was carrying a little extra weight. She accepted the part over the phone to McG but hesitantly told him that she wasn’t back to her normal weight. McG was delighted with this as Kate Connor is pregnant in the film.

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Rinko Kikuchi auditioned for the role of Blair Williams.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger said James Cameron “did an extraordinary job creating that character (The Terminator) and whole phenomenon. I never thought we would do a sequel, catchphrases like “I’ll be back” or “Hasta la vista, baby” would catch on and be repeated or think that 30yrs later I would be asked to come back to a franchise like this playing The Terminator, unlike Batman or James Bond.”

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This was originally intended to be the second half of two Terminator movies developed back to back by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. It was originally titled Project Angel (seen on some computer screens in Skynet during sync sequence with Marcus) and was to be written by David C. Wilson for release in 2003 with the events to start immediately after the first half: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). However, actor commitments, including Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s office term as Governor of California, prompted the script to be rewritten, including moving the timeline by credited writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris, to be supervised and directed by Jonathan Mostow. The project was delayed in 2006 when Kassar and Vajna ended their partnership and sold the movie rights to Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek.

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Sam Worthington tore his intercostal muscles on the first week of filming but insisted on carrying on and doing his own stunts regardless.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger does not think highly of the film and was glad that he was unavailable to appear in it.

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First terminator movie so far (2024) that does not include any use of time travel as a major plot device.

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Ivan G’Vera, who plays Russian General Losenko, is one of the resistance leaders headquartered on a submarine. G’Vera also played the Russian 2nd officer in the movie The Hunt for Red October, which took place on a submarine.

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Kate says “I’m a doctor, not an engineer”, like Bones from Star Trek (1966).

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Features only three characters who have appeared earlier in the franchise, all three of whom are played by new actors. Each of those actors has replaced other actors in other franchises. Christian Bale became the new Batman in 2005. Anton Yelchin appeared as Chekov in Star Trek (2009). Bryce Dallas Howard replaced Nicole Kidman in Manderlay (2005) and Rachelle Lefevre in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010).

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Helena Bonham Carter accepted the role of Dr Serena Kogan because her then romantic partner, Tim Burton, was a huge fan of the franchise.

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Christian Bale was not originally interested in taking part in the film as he felt it would be just a big SFX spectacular. He rejected the role three times before McG convinced him that it would actually be character-based which helped swing Bale’s decision to get involved.

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With a budget of $200 million, this is the most expensive Terminator film to date.

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Special effects technician Michael Meinardus suffered a traumatic injury when a manhole cover flew up and nearly severed his leg.

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McG originally wanted Gustavo Santaolalla or Hans Zimmer to compose the score before settling on Danny Elfman.

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This is the first Terminator movie to be set after Judgment Day.

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During filming of a scene. Christian Bale lost it, when the director of photography continued to walk onto a scene and accidentally interrupted the scene and Bale ranted and swore his mouth off and used 39 uses of the F-word.

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Alex Zane said the film was Arnie-lite. Arnold Schwarzenegger would have done the film but he had his hands full being governor and didn’t have time to take on any new challenges.

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Anton Yelchin replaced Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese and became the 3rd actor in the role. Jonathan Jackson had played Kyle Reese in 4 episodes of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008) and Jai Courtney assumed the role in Terminator Genisys (2015).

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Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s favorite moments from the Terminator franchise are when the Terminator tries to be human because it’s something funny and not just action and violence and the most important thing to the Terminator is to blend in, and when he does he fails miserably and that always gets a big laugh from the audience.

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Marcus Wright was born on August 22, 1975.

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The ladies of the View sharply denounced Christian Bale after his crazy recorded rant on the set of Terminator Salvation went viral. After hearing the tape, “The View” co-panelist Joy Behar suggested that Bale’s rant was out of order. “This is not, no one is on an operating table getting brain surgery,” she said. “This is show business.” But Goldberg said that actors are often intense on set because they are practicing their craft. “But it’s your art. It’s your art form,” she replied. “If I have to jump out of character to tell you something you should know?” Goldberg later continued. “You’re in a zone and it’s crazy.”

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Writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris also wrote Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).

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The only Terminator film not to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger (in person).

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Christian Bale was an integral part of the editing process.

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Alan Dean Foster dedicated the novelization to a Brian Thomsen, no relation to the Brian Thompson who had a cameo as a punk in The Terminator (1984).

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Terminator Salvation: From the Ashes the Official Movie Prequel was also published by Titan Books like the novelization from Timothy Zahn

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Daniel Day-Lewis was also considered for the part of Marcus Wright.

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Kate manages to infiltrate Skynet Central by flying low and fast over it while using surviving Resistance aircraft as cover.

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Spoilers