Terminator Genisys (2015)

Introduction

Terminator Genisys is a 2015 American science fiction action film directed by Alan Taylor, and written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier.

The film is a soft reboot of the Terminator film series, taking the basic story of the original film in another direction.

It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, who reprises his role as the Terminator (following his absence in 2009’s Terminator Salvation), alongside Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Matt Smith, Courtney B. Vance, and Lee Byung-hun.

It follows Kyle Reese, a soldier in a post-apocalyptic war against Skynet, who is sent from 2029 to 1984 to avert Sarah Connor’s death. When Kyle arrives in the past, he discovers that the timeline has been altered, and that Sarah has been raised by a reprogrammed Terminator.

Outline

In 2029, Human Resistance leader John Connor launches a final offensive against Skynet, an artificial general intelligence system. Before the Resistance can triumph, Skynet activates a time machine and sends a Model 101/T-800 Terminator back to 12 May 1984, to kill John’s mother Sarah. John’s right-hand man, Kyle Reese, volunteers to travel back in time to protect her. As Kyle floats in the machine’s magnetic field, he sees John being attacked by another Resistance soldier. This alters the timeline and causes Kyle to experience childhood memories from an alternative version of himself.

When it arrives in Los Angeles 1984, Skynet’s T-800 is disabled by Sarah and “Pops”, a reprogrammed T-800. Pops was sent to 1973 to protect Sarah when she was nine years old, after her parents were killed by a T-1000. When Kyle arrives in 1984, he learns that the timeline has been altered. Kyle is intercepted by a T-1000, which Sarah and Pops destroy with acid. Sarah and Pops have constructed a makeshift time machine similar to Skynet’s, and Sarah plans to stop Skynet by travelling to 1997, the year it becomes self-aware. However, Kyle is convinced that the future has changed because of a message he received in his childhood vision, and he persuades Sarah to travel instead to 2017 to stop Skynet.

In 2017, Kyle and Sarah materialise in the middle of a busy San Francisco highway and are apprehended by city police. While they are treated for injuries, Sarah and Kyle learn that Skynet is called “Genisys” – a soon-to-be-unveiled global operating system which is embraced by the public. John suddenly appears and rescues Sarah and Kyle; Pops arrives and unexpectedly shoots John, revealing that John is now an advanced Terminator. The resistance soldier who attacked John is revealed to have been Skynet in physical disguise as a Terminator. While Kyle was travelling back in time, Skynet attacked John and infected him with machine phase matter. John, tasked with ensuring Skynet’s creation, travelled back in time to assist Cyberdyne Systems with the development of Genisys, hence securing Skynet and its machines’ rise.

A day before Skynet’s worldwide attack, Sarah, Kyle and Pops escape to a safe house and make final preparations to destroy Cyberdyne’s Genisys mainframe. They head toward Cyberdyne’s headquarters with John in close pursuit. During an airborne chase, Pops dive-bombs into John’s helicopter and causes it to crash. John survives the crash and enters the Cyberdyne complex, where it advances the countdown from 13 hours to 15 minutes. Kyle, Sarah and Pops plant bombs at key points in the facility while holding off John.

In a final battle, Pops traps John in the magnetic field of a prototypical time machine. Both are destroyed, but just before the explosion the remains of Pops are flung out of the apparatus into a nearby experimental vat of mimetic polyalloy. Kyle and Sarah reach a bunker beneath the facility and the explosion sets off the bombs, preventing Genisys from coming online. Pops appears, upgraded with mimetic polyalloy components similar to that of the T-1000, and helps them escape from the debris.

The trio travels to Kyle’s childhood home, where Kyle tells his younger self about Genisys and instructs him to repeat the warning to himself, securing the trio’s arrival from 1984. Sarah and Kyle kiss and they along with Pops drive off into the countryside. A mid-credits scene reveals that the system core of Genisys, located in a protected subterranean chamber, has survived the explosion.

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Model 101/T-800, referred to as “Pops” and credited as “Guardian”:
- A reprogrammed Terminator who is Sarah’s protector and mentor.
- Brett Azar stood in on-set as the body double for the T-800 Terminator (of the first film who time-travelled to 1984) and the Young Guardian in 1973.
Jason Clarke as John Connor:
- The leader of the Resistance and Kyle’s mentor, who was attacked by T-5000 and turned into a T-3000 Terminator composed of machine phase matter.
Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor:
- Pops’ protégée and destined to be John’s mother.
- Willa Taylor as Young Sarah.
Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese:
- A Resistance soldier and John’s protégé destined to be John’s father.
- Bryant Prince as Young Kyle.
J. K. Simmons as O’Brien:
- An alcoholic police detective from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) who investigates Terminators and time travellers.
- Wayne Bastrup as Young O’Brien: A LAPD beat cop in 1984 who witnesses the encounter between Kyle and the T-1000.
Dayo Okeniyi as Danny Dyson:
- Miles’s son and Cyberdyne Systems’ president; he co-creates the operating system Genisys with John Connor.
Matt Smith (credited as Matthew Smith) as Alex:
- An advanced T-5000 Terminator who embodies Skynet.
- Alex’s appearance is also used by Skynet as a holographic avatar in 2017.
- Ian Etheridge as Skynet, age 10.
- Nolan Gross as Skynet, age 12–14.
- Seth Meriwether as Skynet, age 18.
Courtney B. Vance as Miles Dyson:
- Cyberdyne Systems’ CEO who funds the Genisys project.
Michael Gladis as Lieutenant Matias:
- A SFPD police lieutenant and O’Brien’s superior.
Sandrine Holt as Detective Cheung:
- A SFPD police detective.
Byung-Hun Lee as Cop/T-1000:
- A shapeshifting prototypical Terminator composed of mimetic polyalloy.

Production

Development

Although Terminator Salvation was intended to begin a new trilogy, the production of a fifth film was put on hold because of legal issues with franchise owner the Halcyon Company (which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2009). To avoid bankruptcy, Halcyon later decided to sell the rights to the franchise and valued the property at $70 million. On 08 February 2010, the franchise was auctioned for $29.5 million to Pacificor, a hedge fund which was the largest creditor in Halcyon’s bankruptcy proceedings. The deal erased Halcyon’s debts to Pacificor and guaranteed Halcyon $5 million for each additional Terminator sequel produced, to pay other outstanding debts. Pacificor sold the franchise again in May 2010.

In August of that year, Hannover House announced plans to develop a 3D animated film titled Terminator 3000. Pacificor responded with a cease and desist letter, declining a $20–30 million offer from Hannover for the rights to produce the film. In February 2011, Universal Studios considered investing in a fifth Terminator film with Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to the title role, Fast & Furious director Justin Lin at the helm and Chris Morgan as the screenwriter. In late April 2011, a proposed Terminator package, dropping Morgan and adding producer Robert W. Cort, was presented to Universal Studios, Sony, Lionsgate and CBS Films. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had a 30-day right of first refusal to finance and distribute Terminator 5 since 2006.

It was eventually picked up by Megan Ellison and her production company, Annapurna Pictures, in May 2011 after they purchased at auction the rights to make at least two more Terminator films. The deal was finalised on 04 December 2012; the final price was reportedly less than the auction pledge because new copyright laws had raised concerns that the rights would revert to Terminator creator James Cameron in 2019. Ellison’s brother David and others from his Skydance Productions agreed to co-produce the film. After acquiring the rights to the franchise, Megan Ellison asked Cameron for input on the new film. Cameron met several times with David Ellison, where they discussed Schwarzenegger’s role and how to remain true to the T-800 character. Director Justin Lin had to leave the project because of his involvement in Fast & Furious 6. Two screenwriters, Laeta Kalogridis of Shutter Island and Patrick Lussier of Drive Angry, were commissioned to write the screenplay in January 2013. Kalogridis and Lussier turned down the project three times, but Cameron persuaded them to accept it.

Paramount Pictures (which has a financing and distribution deal with Skydance) was confirmed as the distributor in June 2013, when they and the producers announced a release date of 26 June 2015. Rian Johnson, Denis Villeneuve and Ang Lee were approached to take over direction from Lin, but Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor was selected in September 2013. In January 2014, Megan Ellison announced that Annapurna was no longer financing the film; Skydance and Paramount would provide funding, and Ellison would be credited as an executive producer.

Casting

On 13 June 2013, Schwarzenegger said that he would return for his fourth film as the Terminator. By early November, Garrett Hedlund was under consideration for the role of Kyle Reese, and Taylor wanted Tom Hardy to portray John Connor. That month the choice for Sarah Connor was narrowed to Emilia Clarke, Tatiana Maslany and Brie Larson, and Clarke was selected in December. Paramount had wanted Larson for the role, but Taylor preferred Emilia Clarke. In December 2013, Jason Clarke was in negotiations to play John Connor. Jason Clarke was David Ellison’s first choice for the role. He was impressed by Clarke’s performance in Megan Ellison’s film Zero Dark Thirty (2012). In February 2014, the studio considered Jai Courtney and Boyd Holbrook as Reese, and later that month Courtney was confirmed for the role. J. K. Simmons began talks for the role of Detective O’Brien in March. According to late-March announcements, Dayo Okeniyi would play Danny Dyson and Lee Byung-hun, Michael Gladis, and Sandrine Holt joined the cast (Lee in a lead role). Matt Smith joined the cast in May, and Douglas Smith did in June.

Screenplay

The film’s producers, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg, worked with writers Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier to devise the story. Kalogridis and Lussier were invited to write the script while they worked on another project with Ellison and Goldberg. They agreed to write a Terminator film when Cameron, a friend of Kalogridis who worked with her in Avatar, gave it his blessing. The starting point of the script was to retain Schwarzenegger as a central character, unlike the Star Trek reboot with Leonard Nimoy as an older Spock in a minor role. They had to write in the actor (now 67 years old), and followed a suggestion by Cameron that the Terminator’s living-tissue exterior was vulnerable to ageing and their idea of Skynet sending a Terminator after an infant Sarah Connor. Kalogridis and Lussier extended this to the core characters of Kyle, Sarah, and John Connor, despite each being from a different time period. Although the writers reportedly enjoyed Terminator 03: Rise of the Machines, they opted to escape its suggestion that Judgement Day is inevitable because of a causal loop in favour of all Terminator timelines existing simultaneously in a multiverse. To map out the timelines and plot, Kalogridis and Lussier had five whiteboards “covering every wall in the office”. They eventually reached a central plot thread in which the Skynet of one universe, defeated in several timelines, sent the T-5000 to the Genisys timeline hoping to defeat the humans by “having the best weapon that humans have”: John Connor. The first draft of the screenplay, to attract a director, was delivered in July 2013. Few changes were made to the script from that point onward. One expansive scene that was removed from the final script would have explained what Sarah Connor’s life was like with Pops.

The film is inspired by the first two Terminator films from Cameron – The Terminator and Terminator 02: Judgement Day – while largely ignoring the two subsequent films that came before Genisys. David Ellison described the film and its intended film trilogy as standalone projects based on Cameron’s original Terminator films. Ellison said the film is neither a sequel or a prequel to previous Terminator films, saying “For us this is Terminator 1, this is not Terminator 5”. A Skydance executive said, “It’s not a traditional remake, nor is it a continuation or a sequel, nor is it exactly a reboot. In a sense, it’s a reimagining”.

The film features seven different time periods, with 1984 and 2017 being the primary setting for the story. Taylor said the film’s storyline would be more complex in comparison to the original two films because of its time-travel aspect. He also described the original Terminator film as a love story and the second as a father/son story, and said that Genisys would be a combination of the two ideas, including a focus on the aspect of a dysfunctional family. David Ellison said the film was inspired by the idea of technological singularity, stating that in reality, humans are addicted to technology “to the point where it’s easy to imagine a world where Skynet has infiltrated every single aspect of your life, and you didn’t fight it – you invited it in.”

Filming

Principal photography began on 21 April 2014 in New Orleans. The film shot under the code name Vista, a possible reference to the Terminator’s “hasta la vista” line in Terminator 02: Judgement Day. The first unit shot the film over a total of 90 days, in high definition. An early sequence from The Terminator is recreated in Terminator Genisys, in which Kyle Reese and a T-800 arrive in 1984 from the future. Because the original film was owned by a different company, the filmmakers did not have the rights to use its opening sequence in Terminator Genisys and instead had to recreate the scenes. In addition, Taylor explained that the original footage would not look right with the rest of the film due to its grain quality. The sequence was shot within the first two weeks of filming. The T-800’s arrival in 1984 takes place at Griffith Park in Los Angeles, a location that was recreated as a set in New Orleans.

To authentically recreate one of the scenes, costume designer Susan Matheson had Nike produce new pairs of discontinued Nike Vandal sneakers for Courtney to wear. Matheson had initially searched for a pair of the sneakers, but the ones that she came across did not look new enough for the scene. Matheson eventually spoke to Paramount, which convinced Nike to produce 25 pairs of Vandal sneakers for the film. For certain scenes, the production tried to match the cinematography of the first two Terminator films. Scenes set in 1984 favoured blue, green, and black tones to match the look of The Terminator, and those set during the future war against the machines were modelled after similar scenes in Terminator 02: Judgement Day. For the future soldiers, arm and shoulder pieces were made of rubber car mats which had been cut up and aged to simulate makeshift armour that the soldiers had salvaged. Legacy Effects, successor to Stan Winston Studio, created the Terminator robotic and make-up effects, led by John Rosengrant (who worked on the previous four Terminator films). Jeff Dawn, lead make-up artist for the first three instalments, did not return.

To prepare for his role, Jason Clarke observed Edward Furlong’s performance as John Connor in Terminator 02: Judgement Day. For a scene in which John Connor delivers a motivational speech to his troops, Jason Clarke referred to passages from Hamlet, Henry V, and a Steve Jobs speech. Courtney watched the previous Terminator films for context and inspiration, but did not seek to replicate the performances of actors who portrayed Kyle Reese in those films. Courtney and Emilia Clarke underwent physical training to prepare for their roles. Courtney had to slim down his physique to appear less imposing. Clarke also went through training for scenes involving weapons and stunts, and had to change her hair colour for the role. Clarke, who is from the UK, adopted an American accent. One scene is shot as a flashback to the 1970’s, during which young Sarah Connor is played by Taylor’s 11-year-old daughter, Willa Taylor.

Filming in New Orleans included NASA’S Michoud Assembly Facility, where a set was constructed to portray part of the Cyderdyne facility’s interior, as well as its time machine. Michoud was the only location in Louisiana tall enough to contain the set. Filming took place there during July 2014. The Oracle Corporation headquarters in Redwood City served as the exterior of Cyberdyne; Oracle was founded by the Ellisons’ father, Larry. Filming at the Oracle headquarters, including interior scenes, took place at the end of July 2014.

In early August 2014, filming took place at the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Scenes involving cable cars and stunt automobiles were shot on San Francisco’s California Street from the night of August 4 to the early hours of 05 August 2014. Because of the late-night filming, the production team had to receive approval from residents and business owners in the area; nearly 99 percent of them approved the shoot. Filming would also take place on Mission Street, in which extras flee from a threat which would be added in later through computer-generated technology. The scenes would depict chaotic city scenes. Subtle action scenes were also scheduled to continue at the Golden Gate Bridge. One scene features a school bus that is flipped through the air while driving on the Golden Gate Bridge. A 500-foot-long replica of the bridge was built in New Orleans for the shot involving the bus flip, something that was done without visual effects. Scroggins Aviation Mockup & Effects was called in to fabricate and build the Police AS350 and Coast Guard A109 helicopter mock-ups for the production.

On 06 August 2014, it was announced that filming had concluded, and that the official title would be Terminator Genisys rather than Terminator Genesis. Ellison later said about the film’s Genisys title, “It didn’t work. The actual thought process behind it was, we were kind of playing on words a la Google. And it’s in reference to genesis, which is in reference to the singularity and the man-machine hybrid that John Connor ends up beginning. Also, if you pronounce it a different way it signals a new beginning. So it was kind of a play on words and it did not come across that way.” At one point during post-production, the mid-credits scene was included at the end of the film, before the credits. Taylor decided to make it a mid-credits scene after getting reactions from test audiences.

Special Effects

Visual-effects supervisor Janek Sirrs oversaw approximately 1,200 visual-effects shots generated at Double Negative, Moving Picture Company (MPC), Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Lola VFX, One of Us and Method Studios. Double Negative was the lead company, with 900 shots which included the T-1000, T-5000, and T-3000 Terminators, the helicopter and bus-chase scenes and the Cyberdyne explosion. The complexity of the T-3000, which had to be shown as a living mass of nanomites with the ability to transform in successive layers, required as much as 20 hours to render a single frame. The mechanical cells aimed to resemble the material on stealth aircraft, with a result described as “more matte than metal” and resembling a slightly-iridescent ceramic carbon. Since the T-3000 was a man transformed into a robot, the design aimed for a human shape streamlined for better combat efficiency. The T-1000 was built from fluid simulations, their environments filmed with high-resolution cameras to ensure proper reflection. Its acid destruction was realistically depicted after studies of acids burning aluminium ingots and other metal. Double Negative’s artists shot many reference plates of San Francisco, including scans of the Golden Gate Bridge, to ensure that the city was recreated properly in the bus and helicopter chases.

MPC’s most elaborate effect was the digital recreation of the original Terminator, which required 12 months for 35 shots (completed 30 minutes before the final print was submitted to the studio). Performance capture was used only for facial animation, since Schwarzenegger was scanned reading his lines. The studio’s artists studied archive footage of the actor, focusing mainly on The Terminator and Pumping Iron, and were given a 1984 plaster cast of him. On set, the fight between both Terminators had Schwarzenegger and Brett Azar (a bodybuilder chosen for his resemblance to the actor in 1984) and, in more dangerous scenes, Azar and a stunt double – requiring effects artists to replace the face of Pops. MPC also handled the future battle, with set extensions and Skynet robots and vehicles based on models by Legacy Effects. ILM did the opening scene – in which San Francisco is wiped out on Judgement Day, inspired by the Los Angeles nuclear destruction in Terminator 02: Judgement Day – and the Terminator vision. For the IMAX 3D release, the film was remastered with IMAX DMR technology to create 3D effects and a high-resolution film print.

Music

Lorne Balfe composed the film’s score. Hans Zimmer joins in as an executive music producer. Balfe aimed to create a soundtrack which stood in its own, since Terminator Genisys is “not a prequel and not a sequel”, incorporating Brad Fiedel’s iconic theme in The Terminator: “have a nod to the past but also bring it into the future.” Chinese pop singer Jane Zhang and hip hop artist Big Sean contributed “Fighting Shadows”, released by Def Jam Recordings on 30 June 2015, as a soundtrack bonus track. The track is Zhang’s first English-language recording and Big Sean’s musical feature-film debut. A music video of the single, produced and directed by Robby Starbuck, included footage from the film. The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated”, OneRepublic’s “Love Runs Out” and Inner Circle’s “Bad Boys” are heard in the film but not included in the soundtrack.

Cancelled Sequels and Television Series

In December 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that a television series was in the works, which would tie into a new Terminator film trilogy. Sequels to Terminator Genisys were scheduled for release on 19 May 2017 and 29 June 2018, under the tentative titles of Terminator 2 and Terminator 3, but they were ultimately cancelled.

The two sequels were to be filmed back to back during nine months of continuous shooting. The storylines for the two sequels were devised by Kalogridis and Lussier. The new trilogy would have explained who sent Pops back to protect Sarah Connor. J. K. Simmons would have had further involvement in the new trilogy, and Dayo Okeniyi would have a significant role reprising Danny Dyson in the second film, which would have focused on John Connor’s life after becoming part machine.

Development stalled in 2015 after Terminator Genisys under-performed at the box office. On 01 October 2015, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the sequels and television spin-off were on hold indefinitely, following the film’s overall box office performance. According to Skydance COO Dana Goldberg, the company was pressing forward with development but would further analyse market research before starting production. In January 2016, the planned Terminator 2 was removed from Paramount’s release schedule. In April 2016, Emilia Clarke said that she would not return for any sequels.

Home Media

The film was released for digital download on 20 October 2015, and was released by Paramount Home Entertainment on DVD, Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D on 10 November.
Terminator Genisys debuted as the bestselling Blu-ray and the most-rented film of the week, and was second in overall home-video sales to Inside Out.
It has grossed over $25.1 million in total domestic video sales, bringing the film’s gross to $465.3 million.
A 4K UHD Blu-ray was released on 12 June 2018.

Trivia

Sequels for Terminator Salvation were cancelled after The Halcyon Company faced legal issues and filed for bankruptcy.
Megan Ellison and her production company Annapurna Pictures acquired the franchise rights in May 2011.
The following year, production of another instalment in the series was set up in collaboration with Skydance Productions, owned by Ellison’s brother David.
The Ellison’s consulted Terminator creator James Cameron in the hope of returning to the spirit of The Terminator (1984) and its sequel Terminator 02: Judgement Day (1991).
Principal photography was primarily in New Orleans, with some in the on-screen setting of San Francisco.
Six companies handled the film’s visual effects, with its prosthetic make-up and animatronics created by Legacy Effects.
The film was released by Paramount Pictures on 01 July 2015, in RealD 3D and IMAX 3D.
It was not well-received by critics, who criticised the plot and acting, although Schwarzenegger’s return and performance were praised.
Terminator Genisys grossed over $440 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of the series, and of Schwarzenegger’s career, behind Terminator 02: Judgement Day.

Terminator Series