FAQ for
Terminator Salvation (2009) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Terminator Salvation can be found here.

The movie serves as a direct sequel to the previous three movies -- The Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). In the opening of the movie, it states that the event known as Judgment Day took place in the early 21st century (and not 1997, as mentioned in T2). Furthermore, McG has said that "[w]e do honor Judgment Day as articulated in T3." Source ComicBookResources.com.

The official web site for Terminator Salvation can be viewed here.

All trailers for the Terminator Salvation feature film can be viewed here.

No. Director McG has cited the impracticality of integrating plot elements from the show:

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McG confirmed that he's remaining true to the mythology set up in the first two James Cameron movies, but can't possibly include things introduced during Fox's series "The Sarah Connor Chronicles." "Hats off to the third movie, but we paid attention to the first two pictures, and I'm buddies with Josh and everybody who runs 'Sarah Connor Chronicles' but from my experience in one-hour episodic television, those guys are in the writers' room banging out stories left, right and center, and for us to chase those story threads, I think, would be a disservice to our picture. We honor Judgment Day timing, we honor the 2029, we honor the coming of the T-800."

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(Click on the names to see what they look like.)

Hydrobot, T-1 Unit, Aerostat, Harvester, Mototerminator, Aerial Hunter-Killer, Transport, Ground Hunter-Killer, T-600, T-700, T-800, T-R.I.P. (Resistance Infiltrator Prototype), and Marcus. Dr. Serena Kogen was originally scripted to be a Terminator, but the idea was scrapped in rewrites.

McG talked to James Cameron in New Zealand when the latter was filming Avatar. There, Cameron told him about how he was making Aliens, following Ridley Scott, and how people were skeptical over him, much like McG. They later had several phone calls, talking at great lengths about the story, and Cameron suggested Sam Worthington, the star of Avatar, to be the Marcus character.*

Controversy arose when McG claimed that Cameron gave him his blessing for the picture.** When Cameron was asked whether he was involved in the movie, he replied, "It could be a big steaming pile or it could be brilliant. Sam Worthington is in the Avatar and the new Terminator and he likes the script, but I never saw it. There was no blessing involved."*** He later dismissed the issue, saying there was some misunderstanding between McG and himself. Cameron said that when McG asked him to support and become a creative participant for the film, the former asked for the script but never got it, so he has "zero basis for supporting or dissing the film. . . But I'm predisposed to be supportive based on Sam's involvement and his judgment, because I believe in him."**** As for McG, he later quoted Cameron as cordially saying that he did not endorse the movie and kept the right to hate it, but he wished [McG] well and preferred that he make a good Terminator movie to a bad one.*****

*MovieHole.net | **Eonline.com | ***Network.NationalPost.com | ****Ain't It Cool News | *****Wired Blog Network

The secondary character is a hybrid named Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington). Marcus was a criminal who was executed in 2003. He donated his body to Project Angel, which was involved with SkyNet. They take his body and make him into a terminator; he has a terminator skeleton, but has living muscle/skin and a beating heart.

In The Terminator, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) stated that the resistance mostly fought at night, but they had to be careful due to the HKs' use of infrared. This movie takes place in 2018, not 2029. Tactical plans could have changed between those two time periods. Perhaps they started out doing missions in the day and later realized it would be more beneficial if they fought at night. Another theory suggests that it's General Ashdown (Michael Ironside)'s decision to fight during the day, since John Connor (Christian Bale) isn't the leader of the resistance just yet, and Ashdown is a very arrogant and headstrong leader. Even with Connor's advice, Ashdown would likely ignore it. In this film, Reese (Anton Yelchin) says that they fight during the day because machines have infrared technology, making them more dangerous at night time, seeing as how infrared would be harder to lock onto a target during a hot sunny day than on a cool dark night. (this may have been switched from the original film and this film because the technology surrounding infrared has improved significantly since 1984, thus making it more effective at night.)

In the first film, Kyle Reese, who arrived from 2029, mentioned that "the 600 series had rubber skin, but these [T-800s] are new." However, in the movie, which takes place in 2018, John Connor says, "But this is not the future my mother warned me about," which can be applied to any inconsistency within the franchise. This is not the same future from the one seen in the first two movies. Judgment Day was postponed in T3, and this film follows T3.

Also, the thing to remember is that the time-travellers from the first three films have provided John with prior knowledge that he normally would not have known until much later. In this case, John already learnt before Judgment Day from his mother and his Terminator protectors that Skynet was going to make T-800s with human skin. Knowing this, he could actively search out where the prototype was, and destroy it, delaying their production until mid-2020. Had no one travelled back through time, he would not have known beforehand and he would have encountered them in 2018. The subsequent time-travels have given John (but also Skynet) a closer look at things to come, and in that way altered the time-lines to some extent.

Some of them did. The one that attacked Marcus and Kyle had a little bit from what had either deteriorated or had been lost in battle; it even had clothes on, as did the sentry at the Skynet processing center. Seeing as how the machines don't groom themselves, their rubber skin either deteriorates with wear or from battle, as does their clothing. Also, the T-600s appeared to be common soldiers and not infiltration units, which is why they had rubber skin instead of the highly advanced human tissue of the T-800. From a distance the rubber skin would make them look human, so one might expose oneself long enough for them to kill you...like what almost happened to Marcus.

There were pictures of the T-600s, covered in rubber skin here but for some reason they were removed, probably to expose the Terminator skull.

If you watch closely, Reese never comes into contact with the T-800 Model 101 prototype while it had its skin. John fires his grenade launcher at the T-800 fairly quickly, destroying its flesh. Therefore, even when Reese saw the T-800 with it's skin, it was obscured briefly before it was destroyed also the adrenaline and overall stress of the situation probably would be enough for him not to remember the face in the brief shot he would have had to look at it, he only got a good look at its endoskeleton.

Marcus believes he is human, and everyone he meets does not even suspect he is a machine. It's possible that Skynet anticipated this while building him and created a special type of metal alloy that is extremely light weight but near indestructible in order for him to appear as human as possible. It's stated that he is the only one of his kind, so it's possible his metal endoskeleton weighs no more than a human skeleton would, or perhaps just slightly heavier. Therefore, he has the ability to float and run much faster. He also feels pain, making him even more unique. According to the book, he walks on the bottom instead of swimming. In the film, he appears to be swimming as he leaves Connor, but only using his right arm.

According to director McG: "Kyle Reese must be kept alive, so he can be sent back in time from 2029 to protect Sarah Connor, impregnate her, and she'll give birth to John Connor, who will save us all. And the simplest way to understand that is to protect the triangle of Kyle, John and Sarah. Any deconstruction of that leads to more headache than satisfaction." (TerminatorChronicles.com)

In other words: Skynet already knows Kyle will travel back in time and become John's father. It also knows that in the near future, as a desperate measure, it will try to alter the past in its own favour. In 2018, Skynet may not be ready yet to change the time-line, thinking it can still win the traditional way. The effects of altering the past are impossible to predict: with Connor removed from the time-line, perhaps someone else will grow up to be the leader of human resistance, who could be even better than Connor (Skynet obviously didn't consider this when it sent the Terminators back to eliminate him, or maybe it just didn't care at that point given that John & Co. had breached its inner defenses and it was about to be destroyed.). Best strategy for Skynet to win in 2018 is to lure Connor when he is rising to power, kill him then, and leave the resistence in disarray.

Another theory, Skynet probably didn't want to cause a time paradox, if he killed Kyle the future of 2018 would be reset, the future would cease to exist, and Skynet would have to start all over again and may even destroy itself in the process.

The reason why Skynet tried to destroy Connor before he was born in T1 was because Connor destroyed Skynet in the future like Kyle said "Skynet's defense grid was smashed, we'd won, taking out Connor then wouldn't have made a difference, Skynet would have to eliminate Connor's total existence."

But Connor didn't destroy Skynet yet so it thought it would be easier to use Kyle as bait and kill Connor now before Connor destroyed it. With Connor dead and Kyle still alive, Kyle would still go back in time, Connor would still be born and Skynet would win the war.

In other words, it would be easier to kill Connor now and Skynet would win the war in 2018 instead of killing Kyle, reset the future, and start all over again.

Another theory is that three different theories of time travel are used. In Terminator 1, they introduced the idea that time is static, like a train track. Everything that happened was meant to happen, and the outcome would be the same no matter what the characters did. The second film introduced the idea of alternate realities. In this reality, Skynet was destroyed and then the characters could pick and choose their own futures, and the future of Kyle Reese would never exist. The third film used the idea that time is fluid, like a river. The events of the 2nd film changed history, but couldn't rewrite it. Future events would still happen; they could be delayed, but never eliminated. The fourth film tries to go back to the idea of alternate realities, in that this future is different than Kyle Reese's original future, but it appears that there were so many plot holes, they're actually back to using the "time is fluid" idea.

The year is 2018; the future scenes in the previous films took place in 2029. Therefore, it's likely the machines hadn't invented the technology yet, and the resistance hadn't captured the technology. The Harvester, Moto-Terminators, and HKs are the only machines that have the plasma firing weapons. The T-600 used a MINI gun.

No. John fires his M4 at the Terminator, hitting him in the chest and stomach, and it clearly leaves damage. Then, John fires his grenade launcher at it, melting off its skin. The ensuing melee combat between John/Marcus and the T-800 was with no weapons, except a few scraps of metal. Molten lead is poured on the T-800 as well, but because that type "was an earlier steel process [of molten steel] after it had been separated from the coke" and because "it was frozen quickly enough by the [liquid nitrogen],"* the T-800 didn't melt. *MTV

Another possibility on why the molten steel didn't affect it was because there wasn't enough to melt it. In T2 the Terminator sat in a large pool of molten steel for minutes to melt.

It's also possible the T-800 was an advanced prototype. Perhaps this T-RIP (Resistance Infiltrator Prototype) was built stronger than the others specifically to kill Connor, or, because Connor destroyed the Terminator factory, Skynet's research was set back and their later productions were less advanced, which may explain how it had better scanners.

When Marcus is talking with the Skynet simulation of Dr. Kogan, she states that skynet tricked the resistance into thinking they're going to win the war by supplying them with a signal that would deactivate any terminators within range. The Resistance believed that they should have an all-out assault on Skynet with the use of this signal. Also, the machines captured Kyle Reese in order to lure John Connor into Skynet's headquarters. The whole point of Marcus being created was to get Connor to believe Marcus actually wanted to help him rescue Kyle. The best way for a machine to convince John Connor? Make him human and truly want to rescue Reese. This was all unknown to Marcus who believed he was actually doing this of his free will, but the scenario was already planned by Skynet and was programmed in Marcus' subroutine to help Connor. So when Resistance Command gave the order to attack, Skynet was able to trace their signal and destroy their base. The next phase was to create pressure on Connor with the knowledge that Kyle Reese is in Skynet and the Resistance is planning on bombing it, thus luring Connor into Skynet to rescue him with Marcus' help and have Connor killed by the T-800. (possibly because as stated in Terminator 3, that because of his boyhood connection to that model it allowed him to get close enough to kill him. But Connor knew better) This part of the plan backfired when Marcus refused his programming and rescued Connor and Kyle Reese.

Yes. Terminator Salvation Director, McG, has stated that there will be many references to the previous three films (the first two especially), including quotes. Here are some quotes used in the film:

"I'll be back." - John Connor

"Come with me if you want to live." - Kyle Reese

"What day is it? What year?" - Marcus Wright

"Drive."- Marcus Wright

"There is no fate but what we make."- John Connor (final line)

"Get out!"- Marcus Wright to Star (but in a more aggressive and high tone, and not the traditional way).

Danny Elfman wrote new themes for this film, but based them on the theme from the previous Terminator movies. He did, however, utilize Brad Fiedel's original, and now famous, pounding 5-note "Terminator" motif during the opening credits, during the appearance of the Arnold Schwarzenegger model Terminator in the climax, and at the close of the movie right before the end credits.

Nick Stahl: In regards to the soon-to-shoot Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, Stahl said he had been told some time ago that his considerable talents would not be required for the fourth movie, although he is scratching his head over rumors that Bale will be 30 years old in the flick. "They said it would be a 50-year-old man, but I guess they reduced the age a little bit," Stahl said of how the franchise producers had explained the plot to him. "That's what they told me very early on [in development of the 'Salvation' script]. That it was gonna take place further in the future, and I probably wouldn't be on." - MTV Movies Blog

Claire Danes: First, the bad news. When asked whether she'd be interested in coming back to the franchise, she didn't seem too intrigued. "I don't think so," she said. Of course, that's not much of a surprise, considering she was a last-minute replacement in the last installment of the franchise. "I felt sort of kidnapped by the production," she recalled. - MTV Movies Blog

"The Day the World Went Away" by Nine Inch Nails. It can be heard on the fourth studio album The Fragile (1999).

There are no additional scenes after the end of the credits.

Update (22.11.09): By now the directors cut has been released exclusive on Blu-Ray in several countries. It offers some new scenes of violence and nudity which had to be cut in order to obtain the PG-13-Rating. You can find a detailed comparison between the theatrical version and the directors cut (with pictures) at movie-censorship.com

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I also asked McG if there will be an extended Director's Cut of Terminator Salvation when it hits DVD. And if so, how much more will be included in that cut.

"Substantially more," he said. "Substantially more. I'll have to look at that cut, and decide if it's ultimately better than the theatrical release. I have a great partner, who is a wonderful sounding board, in Conrad Buff. Conrad cut Titanic and won the Academy Award, and he cut T2. He's the antithesis of who I am. We talk about what we want to do, we sort of concur, and we've got the Director's Cut going on over here, and then we've got what is likely to be the theatrical release over here. So we'll see." *

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Yes; he has already signed up for the next two movies. *BBC

However, Christian Bale states that he will only return if the script is good, so it's up to him.

Because of the possibility of the next Terminator movie being molded by another studio, there is a chance he may not necessarily be asked to return, but he may be retained because of his A-list status even in such an event.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's face was scanned from a previous movie and placed on a stunt double's body using CGI. The result is the T-800 that appears at the end of the movie. Other than that, Schwarzenegger does not appear in any other way, and didn't actually shoot any scenes for this movie.

He and his whole family gave it thumbs up.

It is unknown at this point.

Director McG started a buzz that he and Christian Bale would make a Terminator 5 about John Connor going back in time to pre-Judgment Day to stop Skynet, which has found a way to send back non-organic machines such as HKs and Harvesters. Connor would receive help from a scientist played by Robert Patrick, the actor who played the T-1000 in T2, which would show how the T-1000 was created and where it got its face. There was also a rumor that Connor would also meet his mother, Sarah Connor, in the past before she died of cancer and that Linda Hamilton would probably reprise her role.

Terminator Salvation suffered from bankruptcy because of the low box-office success of the movie, and the producers may have to sell the rights to Terminator to another studio for 60 million dollars. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because each Terminator movie was done by a different studio: The Terminator by Orion, T2: Judgment Day by C2 Productions, T3: Rise of the Machines by Intermedia, and Terminator Salvation by Halycron. So its possible a fifth Terminator film will be made, though it may not follow McG's proposed plotline or his shooting style.

Christian Bale says he's interested in a Terminator 5, and has signed on for three more movies, but explained he'll return only if the script is good, so it's entirely up to him whether or not he returns for a potential Terminator 5. So far, he hasn't been in any talks about a sequel.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed interest in buying the rights to Terminator, and may help save the series that made him a star, but hasn't confirmed that he will buy it.

So far Sony Pictures is the main bidder for the rights alone with Summit Entertainment, Platinum Equity and Media Rights Capital.

Just recently Joss Whedon, creator of Firefly and Dollhouse, offered $10,000 dollars for the Terminator rights (as a joke).

According to director McG he claimed that he is still planning a Terminator 5 and 6 even though the auction for the rights hasn't ended yet. It is unknown at this point whether or not he will return for the next Terminator film if one is made.

At this point, the prospect for a fifth Terminator film remains up in the air.