13 Things You Never Knew About 'Terminator Salvation' on its 10th Anniversary
When it first hit theaters, "Terminator Salvation" provided a grim view of humanity's future. Now that the movie has been out for ten years, it instead showcases a past that never came to be. That's the funny thing about this time travel-obsessed franchise. Celebrate the tenth anniversary of this reboot with some interesting facts you might not know about the making of "Terminator Salvation."
1. While he wasn't directly involved with the reboot, James Cameron consulted with director McG about "Salvation," recommending both actor Sam Worthington and art director Martin Laing.
2. The plot was much different in earlier drafts of the screenplay, with John Connor himself not appearing until late in the film. Christian Bale was initially approached to play Marcus Wright, but after he expressed more interest in the John Connor role, the story was altered to focus more heavily on him.
3. "Salvation" proved to be the final film legendary special effects artist Stan Winston worked on before his death in 2008.
4. According to Bale, "The Dark Knight" co-writer Jonathan Nolan was called in to significantly rework the script. Unfortunately, because of the 2007 WGA strike, most of Nolan's ideas never made it into the final version.
5. This is the only "Terminator" movie not to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger as the iconic T-800. Schwarzengger's likeness was digitally recreated for the T-800's debut scene, but Schwarzenegger himself (then serving as governor of California) declined to participate in the film.
6. Salvation is also the first "Terminator" movie to not use time travel as a plot device and the first to feature John Connor and his father Kyle Reese in the same scene together.
7. There's a reason Michael Ironside's character General Ashdown never sits down in the movie. Ironside broke several vertebrae in an accident shortly before filming and was in intense pain.
8. While the audio recordings of Sarah Connor feature the same dialogue from the original "The Terminator," the recordings themselves were done specifically for "Salvation." Linda Hamilton re-recorded the lines in an uncredited cameo role.
9. "Salvation" was intended to serve as the start of a new trilogy of "Terminator" movies. However, those plans were cut short after The Halcyon Company filed for bankruptcy and the franchise rights were sold to Pacificor.
10. At the time of release, "Salvation" was the most expensive independently financed film ever released, with a budget of nearly $200 million.
11. A leaked early draft of the screenplay featured a very different ending. Rather than Marcus sacrificing his life and giving John his cybernetic heart, that version ended with John dying and the Resistance transplanting his skin onto Marcus' body, allowing Marcus to trick the world into believing the leader of the Resistance is still alive.
12. In response to that leak, McG revealed an even darker alternate ending that very nearly wound up in the final version. This version of the movie ended with John's body being taken over by Skynet after his heart transplant, forcing him to murder his fellow Resistance members.
13. Though "Salvation" never got any film sequels, its story was expanded upon in several comic books, novels and even an animated web series. Most notably, the comic book series "Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle" serves as a direct sequel to the movie.
