Like its title character(s), the Terminator franchise has proven itself to be very difficult to kill, after two well-received installments (by James Cameron) and two less well-received followups. Thus, Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor’s Terminator: Genisys (which releases in 2015) could either be embraced by hardcore fans – looking for a fresh take on the material – or it could be a confusing disaster, what with the inclusion of original star Arnold Schwarzenegger as an aged T-800 who may have secretly been involved in the story from the very beginning.

Co-star Jai Courtney – taking over the role of Kyle Reese – has hinted that the film is neither a reboot nor a sequel, adding fuel to the rumor that the plot could reset the entire universe. According to Mark Reilly of Schmoes Know, however, the film’s big plot twist could be the “last nail in the coffin” for the franchise. During their Meet the Movie Press podcast, Reilly claimed to know the whole plot of the movie, and that fans will not be happy.



Reilly seems to have some specific details about Terminator: Genisys but we recommend taking this with quite a bit of salt, as always. Here is the first part of his comments:

I have a very, very, very good source that has been right every time with stuff he or she has given me. And I know the whole movie of Terminator Genisys. I’m not going to spoil the movie. The real kind of scoop would ruin the movie. I’m just not into that. There are Terminator fans, rabid Terminator fans, I am one of them. This is what I’ll say: We’re in trouble. This movie…I think it’s going to piss off Terminator fans. I think it’s going to be the last nail in the coffin in the franchise. The way that they are trying to spin a new take on the Terminator series is… I don’t even think it looks good on paper. I know the ending. I know who the villain is. And it’s out of left field.

We know that the films stars Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) as a young Sarah Connor, and Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as the new John Connor. The traditional villain of every Terminator movie has been the genocidal AI system Skynet (in one form or another), but Reilly’s “left field” villain comment suggests the antagonist for Genisys might be something else. (Maybe even… human?)

Reilly’s source also confirms Schwarzenegger’s character:

Again, it is Arnold coming back as old Terminator. And time traveling. The time traveling elements are going to confuse the hell out of everyone. That is what I’m hearing. The Terminator and new Terminators…We got a hybrid of the Terminator in Salvation…Now we have a different form of a Terminator…Which I will not get into because that is a big spoiler…But there is a different sort of Terminator coming out and its a reach. I’m like, why are you doing this? Can’t we just go back to the basics? I would love to see Skynet’s last attempt to destroy the Conner family for the future, and send in the last Terminator they have, and its the old T-800 model, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the bad guy.

Reilly’s doom-and-gloom prophesying runs counter to reports of the high quality of the script by Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier (Dracula 2000), so could this take on the potential “franchise killing” plot twists be more of a diehard fan’s nitpicking? It’s hard to believe that Terminator: Genisys will be as confusing and misguided as director McG’s Terminator: Salvation, which featured a human-Terminator hybrid (Sam Worthington) who was meant to be the focus of the movie before the script was heavily re-written to push Christian Bale’s John Connor to the forefront.

Paramount has enough faith in Terminator: Genisys to line up release dates for two sequels, as well as a television series that will tie into the reboot trilogy. For all of the praise heaped on the story by the film’s cast, we still have only bits and pieces of confirmed plot details. Stay tuned for more as details emerge.

What do you think, Screen Ranters? Do you want more of a traditional take on the Terminator mythos, or is it time for major story overhauls? Sound off in the comments.

Terminator: Genisys will open in theaters on July 1, 2015.

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