Apocalyptic battles, alternate endings, and that time the Terminator killed
Santa Claus. Here's what you might not know about Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Warning: This video contains fast, flashing images. Viewer discretion is advised,
especially for those with photosensitive epilepsy.
Looking back, it's crazy to think that anyone could have directed Terminator 2 other than
James Cameron. Surely the same guy who put together the original movie would return to
direct the sequel, right? Well, for a while it was pretty much a sure thing.
"I'll be back."
As early as 1985, rumors of a sequel to The Terminator circulated among various
horror and science-fiction magazines, with Cameron telling Cinefantastique that they
had a story worked out — but not much else. The following year, Cameron directed Aliens,
the Sigourney Weaver-led sequel to the original Ridley Scott film.
Upon the release of Aliens in 1986, Starlog magazine published an interview
with Cameron in which he stated that, while Terminator 2 was probably coming,
he planned to let someone else take the helm. He reasoned that, at the time,
he had made more sequels than original movies in his career. Although Cameron apparently had
no interest in directing a Terminator sequel, he did confirm that he and producer Gale Anne
Hurd would still oversee the project, stating a few years later that T2 was "Gale's project."
As you've probably guessed, however, Cameron soon confirmed his own involvement on T2.
He subsequently returned to both co-write and direct the sequel.
The Terminator features a few flashbacks — or flash-forwards — that establish the dark future
from which Kyle Reese has traveled. These scenes depict the horrific struggle between
man and machine, one that results in countless deaths and the near-total destruction of Earth.
Through all of it, Kyle finds solace in a picture of a young Sarah Connor, studying it dutifully in
preparation for the events of the film. These glimpses into the future remain some of the
best scenes in The Terminator, and something fans at the time hoped to see more of going forward.
The way T2 begins, it seems like that's exactly what we're going to get... but
this scene lasts for just a few moments before the titles roll. According to James Cameron,
much more was supposed to be shown, including a full sequence in which an
older John Connor sets the events of the first film into motion from the future.
"He turned it around. He brought us back from the brink. His name is Connor. John Connor."
While we didn't end up seeing John fight the Future War in T2, these ideas would eventually
be recycled in the post-apocalyptic sequel Terminator Salvation, as well as the opening
of Terminator Genisys. While it's a shame we never got to see more of Cameron's Future War,
the mystery surrounding the world of post-Judgment Day America helps make T2 all the more exciting.
It's hard to imagine anyone else playing the role of Miles Dyson, the brilliant director of
special projects at Cyberdyne Systems portrayed to perfection in T2 by Joe Morton. Before Morton was
locked into Judgment Day, however, director James Cameron originally looked to Denzel
Washington for the part. Washington would later comment about this to Premiere Magazine, saying:
"No offense to Jim Cameron, but when I read the script,
I thought, 'All he does is look scared and sweat.' I had to pass."
While we'll never know what Washington's version of Dyson might have looked like,
we do know that it opened up Washington's schedule to work with Spike Lee on Malcolm
X. Washington has had an incredible career, and has even starred in his fair share of
action movies alongside his more dramatic roles. Though it would have been awesome to
see him in Terminator 2, there's no doubt that Washington made the right call — opening the
door for Cameron to cast Joe Morton as the self-sacrificing family-man.
Lance Henriksen has been around for a long time. Possibly most beloved for his role as former FBI
profiler Frank Black on the Fox series Millennium and as the android Bishop in the Alien franchise,
Henriksen has played all kinds of roles over the years. Having worked with James Cameron on
just about every one of his early pictures, Henriksen also appeared in The Terminator
as LAPD Detective Hal Vukovich, who tries to save Sarah Connor from the Terminator.
Although Arnold's original T-800 blasts his way through the police station,
nearly killing Sarah and Kyle Reese in the process, Detective Vukovich apparently manages
to survive the battle. While promoting his reunion with Cameron for Aliens in 1986,
Henriksen expressed his desire to return in a Terminator sequel, stating:
"You never see me die, so I was telling Jim Cameron that it could start in the hospital
with me covered with scars saying, 'Look, if this guy came once, he's gonna come again.'"
Given the track record between Henriksen and Cameron, it's easy to speculate as to
how T2 could have incorporated a broken Detective
Vukovich into the narrative — but for some reason it simply never happened.
Filming a movie is often a stressful affair,
and it can be even more stressful on a picture as big as T2. But hey, there's always the holidays,
right? Christmas is a time when people can relax, enjoy being with their families,
and ignore the tribulations of work for at least a few days. While many of the
cast and crew had the chance to attend a T2 Christmas party in December 1990, however,
not everyone was so lucky. During that time, James Cameron and his post-production team were working
hard on the film's intense special effects, with Cameron himself editing as late as Christmas Eve.
Cameron even convinced his lead star to remain available for emergency filming.
Although Arnold Schwarzenegger was initially unwilling to submit to Cameron's demands,
he eventually reconsidered and began canceling his Christmas plans.
"Alright, but I need my foot massages, my oatmeal, my Austrian Christmas music… I need it all."
This included an appearance at his own Christmas party, as well as one thrown by his in-laws.
Schwarzenegger was also planning on heading to Saudi Arabia with then-President George
Bush to encourage the troops overseas during the holidays, but was forced to cancel that trip, too.
In the early '90s, it seems that not even Santa Claus could escape the wrath of the Terminator.
Of all the changes that Judgment Day brought to the Terminator universe,
perhaps none have been more impactful than the development of Sarah Connor. Originally
a scared young woman fighting for her life, T2 turns Sarah into a badass warrior who is
hell-bent on protecting her son and preventing the apocalypse. Played by Linda Hamilton,
Sarah's relentlessness proves time and again to be one of her greatest strengths,
and that includes the film's final showdown — when this happens.
"Get out of the way, John."
"Shoot!"
To achieve this double-Sarah effect, Linda Hamilton's twin sister Leslie arrived on set,
with the pair appearing together in a single shot. This earned Leslie a seat beside her
sister at the film's Hollywood premiere, not to mention a spot in Terminator history.
The first Terminator movie follows Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor as they fight to escape the
hulking cyborg that has been sent back in time to kill Sarah and prevent the birth of her son. Kyle
sacrifices himself in the final confrontation, and Sarah eventually defeats the T-800 by crushing it
in a hydraulic press. In Terminator 2, Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a new Terminator
searching for John Connor, seemingly to kill him. When John encounters the T-1000, however,
the truth is revealed: Arnie is actually a hero who has been sent back to protect the Connors.
If you're one of the few to experience Terminator 2 without this twist being spoiled for you,
you were truly blessed. Unfortunately for many, the trailers were no help
in keeping this one a secret, and the big T2 twist was spoiled in the marketing — a
mistake repeated by many of its sequels. Some markets were more savvy, though: For example,
the Japanese release of the movie cut a number of trailers around Sarah and John seemingly running
from Arnold's Terminator, with very little footage of Robert Patrick's character at all.
Available on some home video releases, the so-called "Ultimate Cut" of T2 includes only
a few extra moments — but it's especially notable for the inclusion of the film's alternate ending.
Here, we see an old Sarah watching over a now-adult John, now a United States Senator,
and his young daughter as they play at a Washington D.C. playground. While the
playground isn't especially futuristic, the buildings of 2029 are, revealing that D.C.
has gone through quite a change between the mid-1990s and the movie's vision of the 2020s.
This alternate ending feels pretty unnecessary after Sarah's final highway monologue,
which allows for a little ambiguity regarding the ending of the theatrical cut.
"The unknown future rolls towards us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope."
Sequels such as Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator: Dark Fate eventually
proved that Skynet wouldn't be so easily defeated, of course, but T2 originally ends
with a sort of Schrödinger's Cat — the future could be set, or it might not be. Thankfully,
the "Special Edition" and theatrical cuts of the film keep this uncertainty intact, and while it's
cool to see the alternate ending once, it's obvious why it was axed in the first place.
T2-3D: Battle Across Time was a live-action theme park attraction at Universal Studios — one that
cost $24 million to make. A mini-sequel to T2 in the form of a 3D movie with in-theater effects,
Battle Across Time is the only film project to reunite the movie's entire lead cast on
the big screen, along with James Cameron behind the camera. This 3D experience saw
John and Sarah rescued from the T-1000 once again by a brand-new T-800, before it takes
John to the future to defeat Skynet for good. It's quite an explosive experience,
and the filmmakers even invented a few new Terminator models for the production.
Aside from a few inconsistent plot holes, the three weeks of night shoots in the Arizona
desert really paid off. Not only does T2-3D look great, but it expertly combines film
with the stage. Like most James Cameron productions, new 3D technologies had to
be invented in order for Battle Across Time to become a reality. While many fans of the
franchise wanted a third Cameron-directed Terminator feature set in the future,
this is probably the closest we're ever going to get. If you're still hoping to see it, you'll have
to travel to Universal Studios Japan, which is the only theme park still playing the ride today.