One of the pivotal moments seen in the recent Terminator Genisys trailer was the rumored confrontation between the aged “Guardian” Terminator and the 1984 Terminator. In this scene the Guardian Terminator approaches the naked, younger looking Terminator immediately after it arrives in 1984, and utters “I've been waiting for you” before terminating him, effectively rewriting the entire timeline from that moment onwards.
Reporting from an anonymous source, TTF have reported that the confrontation scene is to be redone to make the confrontation between the two machines more brutal. Rather than re-shooting the scene with star Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arnold's stunt double and Aaron Williamson (the body double for the younger Terminator) Skydance Productions have instead opted to re-do the scene using CGI character replacements. To effectively create the older Guardian Terminator, Arnold will have already been 3D scanned for any previously planned CGI manipulation, as for his younger looking adversary the mould taken from Arnold back in 1983 when filming the first movie will be used. The anonymous source is reported to have said....
“The battle will be better than the T-800 and T-1000 from T2. The ground will break on the wrestling fight.”
TTF also claim to have seen some low-poly, unrendered and animated models of the two Terminators to be used in this scene, depicting the confrontation. One such sequence is reported to show the naked, young T-800 lunges at the Guardian punching the Guardian in the face, while the other shows the Guardian Terminator locking the younger Terminators right arm with its left arm, as it prepares a deadly, killer blow. As a result of this confrontation the Guardian Terminator is reported to need gloves and having sustained significant damage, which is reported to heal over the course of the movie; with the same Terminator (albeit with grey hair) meeting Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese in the future after they travel forward in time, reportedly to 2016.
While it is commendable that the film-makers have not become complacent with the movie, it is a little worrying that such heavy CGI work is being green-lit as such a late time in the movies post production. The movie is due for release in theatres July 1, in just over six months time, and as such the film-makers need to be editing the movie while adding ADR, foley, music, sound and visual effects. Furthermore such a CGI heavy scene sounds reminiscent of the T-X v T-850 brawl from 2003's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines which was far from believable and a mere shadow of the awesome T-800 v T-1000 scenes in the climax of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, most of which was done in-camera using practical effects.
Also, no matter how accurate the mould of Arnold's face is from 1983, the exact same technique was used for Terminator Salvation's T-RIP, such recreation needs not just the physical asset but also the emotional one, it needs Arnold's performance beneath it to look realistic, as proven in James Cameron's Avatar. Finally, TTF have also reported that the same source has claimed that the three punks at the Griffith Observatory (previously played Bill Paxton, Brian Thompson and Brad Rearden) have been recast and while recite the famous “F**k you A**hole” line. But if the Guardian Terminator battles and terminates the younger model immediately after it appears at the observatory, then surely the younger Terminator cannot demand “Your clothes; give them to me, now!”
