In the first half of the trailer for Terminator Genisys we see John Connor, portrayed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' Jason Clarke, leading his Tech-Comm unit on an assault on Skynet, finding the TDE (Time Displacement Equipment) and finishing with Kyle Reese, portrayed by I Frankenstein's Jai Courtney, volunteering to go back in time to protect John Connors mother Sarah from termination. This scene is probably the second most important scene in the whole Terminator franchise, and sets into action the chain of events as depicted in all the previous Terminaor movies. Yet, strangely enough we should have seen this scene twenty four years (was it really that long) ago in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
The TDE as shown in the Terminator Genisys trailer!
The iconic and seminal 2029 Future War scenes from 1984s The Terminator, its 1991 sequel and the subsequent T2-3D attraction where filmed by creator and director James Cameron in conjunction with Fantasy II Effects, using a combination of night location fiming, decorated sets and a classic technique used often by Cameron called Rear Projection Photography in which a filmed sequence, usually involving minature models of the movies villainous Hunter-Killers, was proected onto a large screen behind the decorated set. Cameron filmed these scenes with a limited palete of black, blue, orange and purple, mirroring the concept art and storyboards he and concept artist Steve Burg had created in pre-production using black paper and pencil crayons.
The quad engined H-K Bomber, and the slithery H-K Silverfish!
The original design for the H-K Centurion!
The Future War scenes in The Terminator were limited to small scale action set pieces due to the movies tight budget of $6.4 million, but for the 1991 sequel Cameron wanted to show a much larger scale conflict; to show the last, desperate moments of the war against Skynet. In addition to this epic battle scene Cameron also intended to show John Connor, portrayed by American actor Michael Edwards (a former boyfriend of Priscilla Presley, no less) leading his team deep into Skynet territory, past HK-Tanks, HK-Bombers, HK-Silverfish and, as seen in the trailer for Terminator Genisys, the HK-Centurion (pictured above).
John Connor and his team descend down deep into Skynet, discovering a factory full of H-K's and frozen Terminators!
This scene was to culminate with Connor and his team discovering the TDE as a young looking Terminator was sent through to 1984 to terminate Sarah Connor, to which Kyle Reese, again portrayed by Michael Biehn, volunteers to follow after the Terminator to protect Sarah. Then before blowing the facility with explosives John Connor was then to send a reprogrammed Terminator back to 1994. It was over these scenes that Linda Hamiltons voice over was to continue, with the huge explosion seen in the final product (just before the opening credits) originally intended to be that of Skynets destruction.
Unfortunately these scenes were never filmed, though they were designed and storyboarded heavily (as above). As a result Michael Biehns involvment was reduced down to the deleted scene in which he visits Sarah in her dreams, showing her the moment the nuclear missiles would detonate on the ill fated Judgment Day.
While it is true that Terminator Genisys attempts to realize the important TDE scene, what is seen in the trailer feels inferior. Camerons vision of the Future War is a nuanced, contoured battlefield whereas Genisys' reimagining of the same battle is flat and featureless (comparison above), looking as though it was filmed in parking lot. As for the important TDE chamber, the rendition seen in Genisys' trailer (top of article) feels featureless compared to the concept designed by Burg upon which it is based. It is worth noting also that Cameron re-imagined this scene within a notched out pillar within an artificial pit gorged deep into the ground – somewhat similar to the imagery seen in the Emperors final moments in 1983's Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (pictured below).
Steve Burgs vision of the TDE!
James Camerons version of the TDE!
Camerons TDE was to be located within a pit simiar to this, the scene of Emperor Palpatines death in Return of the Jedi!
