Terminator Salvation - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Terminator Salvation or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Terminator Salvation

[oscar]

The original idea was that Marcus was a hybrid, a cross between human and machine, the result of Project Angel he had volunteered for. Hybrids were created by human researchers in an attempt to physically improve the human race. In the movie, a transport can be seen flying away in the beginning, just before the Skynet base self-destructs, and Marcus wakes up with amnesia. In the original screenplay, it would be revealed that the transport contained other hybrids who escaped to safety, but Marcus was unfortunately left behind. He later finds a community of hybrids, and learns from Dr. Serena Kogan (also a hybrid) that when Judgment Day occurred, Skynet wiped out humanity because it believed mankind would destroy itself anyway; it spared the hybrids, reasoning they are the future and salvation of mankind (explaining the movie's title). Ironically, the hybridization process has actually robbed the hybrids of their humanity: they are cooperating with Skynet in eliminating the remainder of the humans, by routinely abducting human survivors and changing the suitable ones into hybrids. They also assist Skynet by developing other types of Terminators (such as the T-1000) and the Time Displacement technology. Marcus finally rejects the hybrids and joins the Resistance. This subplot was written out in subsequent screenplays, leaving Marcus' origin and purpose much more ambiguous.

[claude]

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.

[fred]

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

[aaron]

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

[beth]

(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 withstand nuclear fallout.

[brent]

(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.

[charlie]

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

[phyllis]

Stan Winston: You can see him briefly as a white-haired prisoner on board the harvester after the petrol station raid.

[alyssa]

Originally, there were rumors of an ending where the real John Connor dies at the hands of the T-800. Realizing that John has become the symbol of the war against the machines, the Resistance leaders decide to have Marcus assume Connor's identity by grafting John's skin over Marcus' body. The idea was that anybody could be a hero (in this case, John Connor) and that not only is Judgment Day inevitable, but John Connor and more importantly, the Resistance is as well. The idea got out on the internet when the script was leaked, but after overwhelmingly negative feedback from fans, this ending was scrapped.

[tamara]

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

[jesus]

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

[harry]

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

[duane]

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.