Remember that leak about the “Terminator Salvation” ending last year? The one McG ruled out as nothing more than word on the street? Well, now, speaking with io9, McG has finally confirmed previous suspicions that the leak was in fact the real ending (warning, some spoilers ahead).
“There was this leak that Connor dies and they put Connor’s face on top of the machine body of Marcus,” the director noted. “Everybody went, “Booooooo, what’s that?” That’s half of it [the ending]. We had a jet-black ending. Connor dies, we’re in a room with all the people we care about. You take Connor’s likeness, you put it on the living machine of Marcus. He sits up, now looking like Christian Bale, takes a gun, kills Kate, kills Kyle, kills Star, kills everybody, eyes flare red, [snaps] the end.” Ambitious to say the least. It’ll be interesting to see where McG went after that with the final ending he describes as “tough,” “reflective” and “bifurcating.”
The film’s significant story changes don’t end there either. The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that the film’s star Christian Bale was actually originally tapped by McG to play Marcus Wright (the role that eventually went to Sam Worthington), who at the time was the film’s protagonist with John Connor sidelined to a small role. Bale, however, wanted to play Connor and diligently worked with McG on the script to make that happen.
“A lot of the work was integrating [John Connor] into scenes … and having that feel integral and sensible, as opposed to grafted on just because there was a star in the part,” revealed John Brancato, ‘Salvation’s’ credited screenwriter who McG recently revealed he has never even met. Wait, didn’t we hear things about Jonathan Nolan conceptualising most of the Connor story line?
Whatever, “Terminator Salvation” comes out Friday, May 21.
