It’s no secret that the last three Terminator movies haven’t been critical darlings, with Sarah Connor herself, Linda Hamilton, being among their detractors. But Paramount is hoping to get the sci-fi franchise back on steady ground with Terminator: Dark Fate, which is serving as a direct sequel to The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (similar to how last year’s Halloween only followed up on the 1978 original) and reuniting Hamilton with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Terminator mastermind James Cameron, the latter of whom produced and worked on the latest installment’s story.
Thus for our main sources of footage for Terminator: Dark Fate have been one teaser trailer and a behind-the-scenes featurette for , but with a little over two months until the movie finally comes out, we finally have a new trailer to feast our eyes on as the 22nd anniversary of the original Judgement Day wraps up. Take a look!
The previous three Terminator movies may no longer be canon, but Dark Fate is following the same idea that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Genisys explored: Sarah Connor may have averted Judgement Day from unfolding on August 29, 1997, but time still finds a way to ensure that this catastrophic event still unfold and humanity is forced to fight for its survival against the machines.
Fortunately, Sarah Connor’s just as much of a badass in the R-rated Terminator: Dark Fate as she was in Terminator 2, if not more so, and she’s here to help Grace, a cybernetically enhanced soldier, protect Dani Ramos, a young woman being targeted by the Rev-9 Terminator. If Dani is like Sarah in The Terminator, then she’s lucky to have two individuals serving as her versions of Kyle Reese: One who’s also from the future, and another who’s lived through two previous Terminator visits.
Actually, make that three protectors. While the core trio of protagonists in Terminator: Dark Fate are human, we have yet another T-800 model who’s been reprogrammed to be a force for good, this one going by the name Carl. Clearly, though, Sarah hasn’t had any prior contact with Carl before the events of Dark Fate, as she initially believes it’s one of the standard, malevolent T-800s and tries to shoot him. But their alliance is just temporary in Sarah’s eyes, as she promises to kill Carl when this is all over, presumably to ensure that
One thing this new Terminator: Dark Fate trailer did not do is shed more light on the plot. For instance, is this future that Grace came from another one where Skynet rose to power, or is there a different force that created the Terminators? How did Carl end up in the present day? How does John Connor, who’s been reprised by Edward Furlong, fit into the proceedings?
But even with a lot of questions that still need to be answered, what Terminator: Dark Fate doesn’t look like it’ll be lacking in is action. From your countless bullets being fired into the Rev-9 (who is able to separate into two separate units, one solid and the other made of liquid metal, like the T-1000) to this antagonist slicing his way through soldiers to a plane being brought down, we can expect this latest Terminator movie to unleash tons of devastation.
Oh, and as an added bonus, the trailer wraps up with Linda Hamilton saying “I’ll be back,” to Grace and Dani before a grenade she dropped detonates. Considering that Hamilton has been a part of this franchise since the beginning just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s only fitting that she finally gets to drop that iconic line.
Terminator: Dark Fate opens in theaters on November 1, so keep checking back with for more updates.
