In 1984, a young director named James Cameron, who had only directed Piranha II: The Spawning, released his second film, The Terminator. The film starred an Austrian bodybuilder with an unpronounceable name, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who spoke broken English and had only acted in Conan. The movie was a horror sci-fi story where a robot from the future wants to kill a woman before her kid, who will lead the human resistance against the machines, is born. Surprisingly for all involved, the film created a franchise with six films, a TV series, comics, and video games.
After those movies, some story reboots, and many attempts by everyone involved, the success of The Terminator saga is long gone. Some even wonder if the franchise is dead, and that was before Terminator: Dark Fate bombed at the box office. Here are seven Terminator fan theories that could fix the franchise and infuse new life into this story.
7 Skynet Goes to the Past to Make Sure It’s Created, Not Killing John Connor
What if going to the past to kill John Connor was Skynet’s smokescreen, and they have another motivation to send a T-800 to the past? The real reason to send a Terminator back in time is so that Kyle (Michael Biehn) and Sarah (Linda Hamilton) can kill it and leave its arm and chip in the past. Those two technological advancements are then found by the brilliant minds that will start Cyberdine Systems, creating the company that in the future will develop Skynet.
Humanity Would’ve Been Better if Sarah Connor Had Died
If that idea were true, humanity would’ve been much better if the T-800 had killed Sarah Connor. John Connor would never exist, but neither would Skynet, so there wouldn’t be a need for a resistance leader in the future. The AI sends their sacrificial killer robot lamb to the past to ensure their future. In this version, it’s pretty fun to think about what the T-800 would’ve done, trapped in the past after killing Sarah.
Would he become an action star? Do more than take his own eye (one of the best moments in Schwarzenegger’s time as the Terminator)? Walk the Earth murdering every Sara Connor? There are so many possibilities… Stream The Terminator on AMC.
6 The T-1000 Starts Enjoying Killing
For many, Terminator 2: Judgment Dayis the best film in the franchise, and that’s in large part thanks to its incredible villain, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick). This new Terminator is much cooler and has melting technology, allowing him to change appearances. Even then, the character has many opportunities to kill Sarah and doesn’t. Why is that?
The First Serial Killer Machine
At the beginning of the film, the T-1000 kills people quickly and efficiently, but as the movie develops, it starts to spend more time on its killings. This theory defends that it starts liking the hunt and killing, the fear in its victims’ eyes, and that’s why it takes its time. That’s the reason it didn’t kill Sarah right away. It wants her to suffer and see how it kills her. This idea would show this new Terminator model can also develop emotions. The T-800 learns to love people, and the T-1000 learns to love killing. Stream Terminator 2: Judgment Day on AMC.
5 John Connor Is Trying to Postpone Judgment Day, Not Avoid it
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines might be a disappointing sequel to a great film, but it proves that Judgment Day is always coming. The future John Connor learned that lesson and changed strategies. That’s why, in that movie, the T-800 mission isn’t avoiding the rise of the machines, but saving some important characters, so they can fight the good fight in the future.
More Time Before Judgment Day Means Humanity Is Better Prepared
The first Judgment Day was supposed to happen in the 1990s, and in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, they changed that, giving humanity another decade of peace and advancement before the fight started in 2004. That decade allows humanity to be more advanced in medicine, science, and military strategy. It also means many more people have been born in this decade and could be important members of the resistance in the future. Rent Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines on Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Google Play Movies.
4 The Original John Connor Had Another Dad
If John Connor was alive and could send Kyle Reese to the past in The Terminator (the first time they send someone back). That means that he was conceived before Reese went back. That first John was the kid of Sarah and some other man in the original timeline, and that kid became the lead of the resistance in the future.
John Connor Made a Worse Version of Himself by Sending Kyle Back in Time
If that idea is true, it means John killed this version of himself by sending his friend back, as Reese and Sarah created a new, different John Connor. One that might not be as good at the whole resistance leader thing. This theory would explain why in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, John (Nick Stahl) is an absolute nobody and would explain why in the future, as seen in Terminator Salvation, John Connor (Christian Bale) can’t end the war. Maybe the original John, without Reese’s DNA, was a better tactician and hero. We will never know… Rent Terminator Salvation on AppleTV, Amazon Video and Google Play Movies.
3 Skynet Will Always Happen
Skynet has been the big bad of this franchise and has one of the best Arnold Schwarzenegger performances ever. The circumstances might change, but it always happens. In Terminator: Genisys is through an app called Genisys, but it still happens, proving that the fight between man and machine is a fixed point in the timeline. Circumstances and the year when Judgment Day might change, but it will always happen.
Nothing Is Certain Except Death, Taxes, and Skynet
In the franchise’s fifth installment, Skynet still hasn’t started his war with humanity in 2017, but it’s coming. It’s always coming. Whatever Sarah, John, Kyle and the T-800 do, Skynet always comes, and that’s inevitable. This idea would work well with the theory that John Connor is only trying to postpone Judgment Day, and not avoid it. Whatever happens, humanity and machines will always fight each other. Stream Terminator: Genisys on Amazon Prime Video.
2 The Terminator and Predator Happen in the Same Universe
This theory comes from the fact that in the Alien Vs. Predator arcade game, there’s a character named Major Dutch Schaefer (the same name Schwarzenegger’s character, the best in the movie, has in Predator), who is a cyborg created to fight extraterrestrials. The cyborg’s serial number is CDS-170A3, and CDS could stand for Cyberdyne Systems.
Predator Is a Terminator Prequel
If that were true and Dutch was a Cyberdine cyborg creation, that would mean that Predator is a Terminator prequel and that the T-800 is a much more advanced version of that cyborg model (keeping the same human appearance). It would also mean that Predators could go back to Earth when there’s a war between humanity and robots. With whom would the Predators align? Would they fight alongside the machines in a “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” kind of way? If that’s the case, humanity would be absolutely doomed. That would be a Terminator: Dark Fate sequel we would love to see. Stream Terminator: Dark Fate onDIRECTV.
1 Skynet Is Trying to Save Humanity
Humanity has proven time and time again that they might kill themselves. Nuclear weapons, wars, famine, and unsupervised science experiments. What if Skynet, in all its AI wisdom, ran the numbers and learned that humans would end themselves in the next 30 years? Unless… they had a common enemy.
Skynet Is the Real Hero of the Franchise
Skynet is that common enemy. This theory might be the craziest of them all, except that it kind of makes sense… The AI is awful at ending humanity. It couldn’t kill a 19-year-old waitress back in 1984. They could use biological weapons or send Terminator hordes to the resistance until they all die, as the robots don’t need to sleep or eat, but they don’t. Maybe Skynet runs the numbers and knows that with only 20% of the world population, humanity will be able to survive and repopulate, creating a better society that won’t destroy itself. That would make the Cyberdyne-created AI a martyr, and the real hero of this franchise.
