MovieChat Forums > Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) Discussion > Write your OWN terminator story here!

Write your OWN terminator story here!

posted 4 years ago by [deleted]
14 replies | jump to latest

What would you write for a terminator movie?

For me, my story would be a horror reboot, small scale, low budget beginning with the future war between SkyNet and the human resistance. It would keep legendary things in tact still, such as names, family tree, important events etc.

This would serve to be the FIRST TIMELINE, not an already looped timeline which T1 suggests.

It begins in the year 2023, when it shows a squad of resistance fighters assaulting a SkyNet weapons laboratory discovering crates upon crates of plasma rifles. They steal the weapons, evening the odds against the newly created T800's appearing more and more on the hopeless battlefields.

I would then show a scene showing Connor established as the leader of the resistance. During the meeting, a Terminator disguised as human infiltrates, severely wounding Connor, giving him the facial scar we all know. The T800 is destroyed and Connor gets medical attention.
Skip a year later and the human resistance are fully aware of several things now: terminators infiltrate disguised as humans; they use human slaves for the skin and that SkyNet is up to something deep in the mountains on the outskirts of L.A.
Despite a few scenes here and there depicting rescuing slaves from all over the US mainland, Connor and his men plan to assault the mountainous base to find out what SkyNet is up to. They assault successfully and discover a Time Machine, with co-ordinates set for almost 80 years in the past: 1957. His comm unit hacks the time machine computer, discovering that a T800 had been sent through but they are unsure of the robot's mission due to it's top secret nature and that the location is New York, U.S.A.

Connor; aware of SkyNet's personal hatred against him for creating a resistance, puts two and two together, theorizing that SkyNet has sent back a Terminator to possibly hunt down his ancestors: his grandparents James and Jona Connor, who were living in New York up until the 80's (something he remembers his mother, Sarah telling him when he was a young boy living amongst the ruins of the apocalyptic land.)

John, viewed as a Messiah by most, is not short of offers from his men who wish to go through the time machine to hunt down the Terminator and destroy it. After all, if what Connor theorizes is true, then this machine is aiming to kill his grandparents, therefore killing Connor before he is even born (something which the soldiers themselves question if killing Connor's grandparents would even affect the future Connor).

Taking no chances, one soldier called Lance Benson, offers to go back. Benson, being his best man which Connor is aware off, is sent back to 1957.

I'm not too fussed right now to continue the rough story idea, but it would technically begin as a all out sci fi action war epic (like depicted in T1 and T2) and once both men go back in time, it would become a claustrophobic horror story with the T800 eventually killing the grandfather while Benson dies whilst destroying the T800. The grandmother (3 months pregnant with Sarah) would live on protecting Sarah until possibly in the future, another Terminator would target Sarah in the 80s blah blah blah

Really, there is nowhere for this franchise to go... the time travel element is so done and boring now... I think they should just make a future war movie and thats it.

[–] sONOMArEturns (1253) 4 years ago

That's certainly not a bad idea. I would've rather seen that then the T3/T:G hybrid we got for this movie.

I've kinda put some thought into it and this is what I think I would've done:

Make it fairly low budget and closer in theme and tone to T1. Set it in the past. Have a new Terminator sent back in time to defend, but not the good guys. Have Arnold Schwarzenegger in it, but not as some 75-year-old robot. Instead, make Arnold play the character he should've played in TG and T:DF...that being a normal human scientist/engineer/designer related to Skynet. Arnold is now a target to the Connor's due to his blatant knowledge on what will happen in the future (similar to Dyson in T2), but instead of owning to his faults, human Arnold tries to run while a highly advanced Terminator protects him to ensure Judgement Day occurs. So the roles are reversed, to where the Connor's are now acting as the Terminators and the villain is the one being protected. Also have a police detective investigating the Terminator's bizarre murders and blaming it on the Connor's to add the noir feel from T1.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Thanks and I like that idea... We both come to the same conclusion that the ideal Terminator movie should be like T1 tonally.

I really like that the roles are reversed! But I think I'd prefer to see a basic T800 defend evil scientist Arnold, not an advanced one!

Very good idea though!

[–] sONOMArEturns (1253) 4 years ago

Cool, thanks!

I didn't think of old Arnold and young Arnold working together. There could be a cool Gemini Man dynamic going on, expect better...hopefully! Though, imagine the T-800 turning against human Arnie at some point...that would be even more surreal! How horrifying would it be to be an old man being hunted by a younger version of yourself. Imagine looking into the eyes of your younger self, but they aren't friendly; they're cold, mechanical, and hostile. Maybe at the end, the T-800 realizes all humans must die for their greater plan and decides to turn against Arnold after they've gotten far enough together.

I also thought of the idea of Edward Furlong returning to play John Connor as an out of shape bum, pretty much how he is in real life. Realistically, Connor probably would've turned out to be some delinquent had Judgement Day never come,, and in a way, he's bitter that he never got the chance to be a leader like destiny said he would. Now, he's just some druggie felon who nobody will ever know could've been the savior of humanity. I'm sure in reality that idea would fuck him up a bit. Sure, humanity would've been doomed, but at least he would be somebody instead of the nobody loser he is in this reality.

[–] 10200 (656) 4 years ago

About the opening scene - I have so many problems with that. Does anyone really think Sarah and John would be just hanging out at a beach bar 3 years after the end of T2 looking pretty much like themselves? No, that soon after T2, they would be in hiding and/or changed their appearances. They had blown up Cyberdyne, he was a juvie, she was a criminal who had been locked up in a mental institution. Sarah even mentions in DF that she is wanted in all 50 states and had an entire episode of America's Most Wanted about her. They would be considered international terrorists. They would never have had normal lives, even if judgement day never occurred.

So how in the hell did the terminator locate them? In T1, Kyle tells Sarah that Skynet knew very little about John's mother - the records were destroyed during the war. Nobody should have known where they were, including Skynet, so just sending multiple terminators back and one just happening to find John in Guatemala is ridiculous.

I've always had a problem with more terminators showing up in the past - even in T2.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Agreed completely.

The opening scene made no sense and was just shoehorned in to discard John Connors importance and that's it.

Terminator has always been about John Connor and always will be.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

The idea of a younger version of yourself hunting you sounds truly horrific and amazing at the same time! This is something I would love to see in a terminator movie.

Fuck, let's make this now!

Yeah Furlong could have written in like the way you mentioned above.. I don't think the filmmakers really cared too much to come up with a decent story line. Think they just wanted to make easy money quickly but thankfully they didn't because it bombed hard everywhere (even in China!)

You make some real good story ideas here!

[–] kam2019 (1) 4 years ago

I like your idea.
But I was thinking of one way to make a true sequel of T2.
What if after T2 John and Sarah Connor are wanted criminal by the FBI. John is now known as a the most dangerous hacker in the US. Meanwhile a terminator from the future(half machine half human like Marcus in T.Salavation) is sent to kill John, but there is a twist. The future where the terminator came from ,judgement day never happen due to Sarah and John blowing up Cyberdine. There is no war against machines except terminators are created and under control by the government. John in that future is accused of a terrorist attack that killed many civilians. Sarah and John not only have to fight against the FBI , a new terminator but also find out how and why John will be known as Terrorist in the future.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

That's awesome!

It would be interesting to see a true sequel to T2 where many events which happened in T2 directly effect the future as you put it.

Very nice idea. It's funny how we are only three posters and yet combined, we could make a bloody better movie than studios these days.

[–] maul (1533) 4 years ago

Most of these writers have spent so much time in their Hollywood bubble and up their own asses that they have no connection to reality and what's good anymore.

They put a pen to paper and think they're writing gold. So they have to blame the fans because in no scenario could they ever accept that they made a mistake, their egos are too bloated to hell. It's why nothing ever seems to improve much on this front.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Agree 100 per cent

[–] papamihel (1579) 4 years ago

Here's mine:

It's 2019 and 40-something John Connor is a CEO of some start-up working with the DoD on a cyber-security project when he finds "ghosts" in the Pentagon system - some weird code that seems to be very unusual and quite possibly not created by humans. So he starts trying to figure out if there is an AI and if there is how to deal with it.

Basically, what happened is this: after the events of T1 Skynet knew about Cyberdyne research and suspected there are humans who know about the Time War. So it decided to change its tactics. Instead of a mission oriented killer robot it sent back in time an instance of itself crammed into a mobile system. T900 or whatever. Not an infiltration model but a strategic thinker.
Something went wrong... I don't know and don't care - may be the Resistance hacked it and it got sent into the ocean or had to dig itself out from the ground. Fact is, there was no change so Skynet sent T1000 and there was T2.
Now the mini-Skynet is finally free and in a world in which Skynet will never have existed. What will it do now?

It's not a sci-fi horror and not an action movie as such. More of a thriller. Instead of being hunted by a terminator it's John who has to hunt the machines.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

I can visualise this as a noir movie!

Very nice! Would be cool seeing more of a strategic thinking robot, instead of the usual deadly terminator.

Thanks for your post!

[–] Nina (531) 4 years ago

I wish for a simple Story:

Edward is about 29 years old. For his own safety he got himself into prison.
Than it is time for a bad terminator to come to kill him. Sarah Connor goes directly to prison to save him.
And guess who is helping her? Yes, Michael Biehn and Arnie!

How would you like that?

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Mine begins with a 2029 John Connor coming back in time to hunt a 1985 James Cameron, Gail Hurd, and directors of Carolco . . .