8 Key Takeaways From The Terminator: Genisys Trailer

Thirty years after James Cameron unleashed his low budget, gritty sci-fi actioner The Terminator, fans of the franchise have been clamouring for a glimpse at the next sequel. Shrouded in mystery after Paramount chose to keep Terminator: Genisys out of Comic-Con, a handful of images and plot details slowly emerged over the following six months. Now, the studio has finally dropped the first full-length trailer for the Alan Taylor-directed sequel. In light of this footage, which invites fans in for a glimpse at the brand new Terminator trilogy, anticipation for its release has gone off the charts. As huge fans of the franchise, we’ve taken to the trailer with a state-of-the-art plasma cannon to dissect and discuss the major talking points. Read on for our breakdown in which we’ll be running through the preview, discussing the action and of course, pointing out any easter eggs dotted throughout the two-and-a-half minute teaser. Enjoy! 1) New Terminators And Old Favourites Opening on a future Los Angeles, ravaged by the war with the machines, the trailer cuts to a scarred John Connor (Jason Clarke) addressing his resistance soldiers (including Jai Courtney’s Kyle Reese) with a moving speech. “If we die tonight, mankind dies with us,” he intones at the end of the scene - which is interspersed with a ton of new glimpses at the Terminators. In the first few seconds, a trio of airborne Hunter-Killers descend across the fiery ruins of Hollywood. It's hard to distinguish the specific series, but as this latest instalment is a skewered timeline, they could be modified versions of previously-existing ‘bots. The coolest double whammy comes moments later when a Non-Humanoid Hunter-Killer slams down in front of a cowering Connor and Reese, leading to the first solid hold on an endoskeleton Terminator brandishing a weapon. It looks like it could be an updated version of the T-800 - the Arnie model - without the flesh covering. As the 600-900 series of humanoid infiltration units (the Terminators encased with living tissue over a metal skeleton) all look alike, it’s hard to tell exactly. And we’ve not even discussed the two biggest returning cyborgs. 2) The Time Machine While its public knowledge that Genisys is set to spawn a new trilogy for the series, at this point in the trailer, the standard Terminator chronology still applies. A grizzled Connor lays it down, pointing out that the machines sent a Terminator back through time to kill his mother, Sarah. Following what’s gone before, Kyle Reese volunteers to go back and protect her. This is how the original Terminator flick began, with Michael Biehn popping up in L.A. to shield Linda Hamilton’s bouffant-haired Sarah from Arnie’s evil T-800. What we’ve never seen is the actual device which transports them. Now, we’ve finally got a glimpse at the gigantic time travel tech that the resistance stole/copied from Skynet to send Kyle to 1984. Reese steps up, in between two massive circular slabs separated by a small gap. Hovering for a moment, he blasts away into the past. It’s a neat tie-in, providing a cool look at a part of Terminator lore that we’ve never had chance to fully witness. 3) The Alternate Timeline Splinter “The time you’re going back to Kyle, she’ll be scared and weak,” says Connor in reference to his mother, Sarah. “Take care of her for me.” Reese wakes in the same alleyway, before dodging into the same department store he enters in the first movie. A nosy cop spots him and patrols the aisles. Suddenly, a massive truck shatters the storefront windows. Kyle slinks down as the driver mercilessly smacks into the cop. It’s not a Terminator - it’s Sarah Connor. This is actually a pretty big reveal to drop in the trailer. We know the story will splinter off from a key moment in the original, but it's a bold move letting us see it so early on. Barking at John to go with her (more on that later), she unloads a clip into the cop - who’s actually a T-1000 (more on him later as well). Here comes a spot of exposition. While Sarah drives she informs Kyle that she knows about the Terminator that the machines sent back (the Arnie T-800 from the first film) and “they” already have it covered. Who is they? Read on... 4) The T-800 And The T-800 A figure emerges from the shadows - it’s Arnie! He’s old! “I’ve been waiting for you,” he says, locking his rifle as he stomps forward to greet.... err, himself. To be honest, it’s hardly a stretch for people in this time-traveling franchise to bump up against themselves. Although previous entries have never gone down the old “Back To The Future” route, Genisys looks to be adopting some of that logic. With a weird CGI’d version of Arnold from the 1984 original. We also learn that the timeline future John intended to send Kyle back to “no longer exists,” according to Sarah. This also leans heavily on the Back to the Future-type logic, indicating a separate, “tangent” universe. “Everything’s changed,” Sarah concludes. Well spotted Connor. The biggest change in this cluster of shots has to be the sight of an aged T-800, without its flesh arm covering, flexing its fingers. The reasoning behind its visibly older human exterior has been explained - but it's still damn cool to see it onscreen. In the very last moment of the trailer, in an act of mad heroism, the T-800 dives from a helicopter and sort of... well, turns into Superman. It’s an interesting direction to take the old timer in, but seeing as this is an alternate timeline, there’s every chance his creators had a soft spot for Clark Kent. 5) The T-1000 Robert Patrick’s T-1000 is long gone, after perishing in the molten steel at the end of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. One thing this revamped, sassy Sarah didn’t seem to know was that there’d be another one interfering in her plans to slap some sense into Courtney’s doe-eyed Kyle and save the world from Skynet. This updated version (played by Byung-hun Lee) looks to be treading down the same path. Stoic, mute, and deadly, crashing through a warehouse window he spins across the floor, taking a barrage of firepower from Sarah and Kyle. There doesn’t appear to be any upgrades to his basic technology though. It can still turn into sharp, stabbing weapons and heal itself instantly. It would have been nifty to see some new skills showcased here, as it's likely that this is a newer model - like the T-1001 from The Sarah Connor Chronicles series. 6) The Dyson House Sarah insists that Judgment Day can be stopped. Hasn’t she been paying attention? It’s unstoppable! Either way, we then see her and Kyle staring at a large display monitor filled with random shapes. Take a peek outside the screen and notice anything? The floor-to-ceiling glass, the manicured lawn... it bares a striking resemblance to Miles Dyson’s house from Terminator 2. As publicity materials have stated, Dyson (Courtney B. Vance) and his son Danny (Dayo Okeniyi) both play a role in Genisys. Do either of them appear in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of the trailer? Possibly, but if so, it was barely detectable. It’s safe to assume that they might become allies for Sarah and Kyle in their mission to take down Skynet. 7) Is The “New” Terminator.... Kyle Reese? In a very, very brief shot, Kyle’s frightened and flabbergasted face turns to Sarah before she yells for him to run. Opening up on a wide angle, we see Sarah facing two men; one is Kyle, who looks like he’s taking her advice, and the other... also looks remarkably like him. Opening fire, she blasts away and that short sequence ends. Could this mean that this new-fangled Terminator that’s set to blow everyone away (according to rumours) might present itself as Kyle? It’s impossible to say with any certainty, but if that is the case, it's refreshing that this potentially huge twist hasn’t been totally spoiled in the first trailer. The fact that it cuts to a series of shots featuring droves of endoskeletons with massive plasma rifles blowing stuff up, could suggest this as-yet unseen machine is an updated T800. Or even the T-900, which has yet to take centre stage in a movie. 8) The Battle Will Head To Skynet HQ Negating Sarah’s earlier statement that “everything’s changed,” some things stay the same. No matter what timeline you’re in, the machines like the same real estate. In the final explosive scene, Sarah and Kyle are aboard a school bus on the Golden Gate Bridge. As the previous mythology has established, San Francisco is where the machines assemble their headquarters. It looks like the resistance - Sarah and Kyle - are taking the fight to them. If they can survive a massive bus-flip in the middle of the bridge, that is. And who’s that giving them a hand?... Verdict? It’s All About Nostalgia The definitive Terminator score - dun dun dun dun dun - is back! Music is no doubt the easiest route to the audience’s heart. Shadowing earlier films, the trailer culminates in the legendary stomp and throws in a bunch of massive in-your-face throwbacks. Drawing parallels between old and new, the series’ most iconic lines are also shoehorned into this tight preview. “I’ll be back,” says Arnie. “Come with me if you want to live,” Sarah shouts at a frightened Kyle. The relationship with the supposedly romantic couple we’ve grown to love from the first instalment is also somewhat different here. Instead of Kyle’s commanding, stern tone, he’s reduced to a bit of a damp squib. Clarke’s the badass here. Completing the role reversal, she’s the one giving him the rundown on events as they hurtle through the grimy L.A. streets - much like he did to her in the older, original timeline. Couple this with a shot of the T-1000 leaping from a police car to the back of an open truck, from which Sarah and Kyle blast away, the helicopter scene, the bus chase, heck, there’s even a flash of a fight scene around a vending machine... and there’s plenty of echoes to James Cameron’s first two movies. With many months to go, it’s likely we’ll see more trailers and clips to fill in the gaps and answer the many, many questions this first preview has invoked. Namely - where is Matt Smith? He cropped up in EW’s exclusive photo shoot alongside the resistance fighters. Could Taylor have something bigger in store for him? Or could he be the new type of Terminator that’s gonna blow everyone’s minds? What of Sarah’s past tragedy? Will we see what happened to her parents? In a tiny sliver of a shot we see a young girl carried away by a Terminator, resting a cannon over its other shoulder. Broken panels of wood scattered at their feet suggests that there’s probably been a bit of a punch-up. This adds another shift away from the original, as Sarah’s parents are killed much later by the T-800. All in all, the first trailer for Terminator: Genisys has packed in enough novelty (it’s a new timeline!) with sufficient tropes from the earlier movies to lure in those who aren’t total aficionados. There’s cyborgs, fighting, time-travel... throw in a little romance and we might be looking at the best Terminator film since T2. Maybe.