Today is a good day to be a movie geek, especially if you're a James Bond or Terminator fan. With the new trailer dropping just moments ago, a newly renewed sense of purpose and promise seems to be hitting the franchise that almost died with 2009's dismal Terminator Salvation. Yet out of all of the jaw dropping images in this trailer, there's one that strikes me as the most shocking. It is also, quite possibly, a moment that spoils part of the film's ending.
First, let's start off with the Terminator Genisys trailer, in its entirety:
Now, besides the fact that the timeline is going to be royally frakked thanks to the events of Terminator: Genisys, there's a moment at the end of the trailer (about 02:21) that showcases the T-800 we know as "Pops" assuring Sarah Connor that he'll be back, before jumping out of their helicopter and smashing himself into the blade of a rival helicopter. To save your rewinding fingers, check out the GIF of said moment below.
While this is a Terminator flick and indestructibility is somewhat of a recurring theme in the franchise, the way this moment is played seems like it's leading to an emotional, Iron Giant sort of moment where Pops sacrifices himself for the sake of the mission. Considering the force of his ramming into the helicopter, as well as the altitude this chase is taking place at, there's decent odds that he won't be coming back from that fall. The T-800 is programmed to make sure the mission has the best chance of success, and as we've seen before, he's not above sacrificing himself indirectly to get it done.
Most important, the whole "I'll be back," slogan is a call back you'd expect a film like Terminator: Genisys to save until the end of the film, where it will yield the largest crowd reaction. You don't open the film with "I'll be back" and wade through the rest of the story, only to say it again. It's a card that has to be dealt at the right time. Though now that I think about it, this moment might not only be a call back mixed with a heroic sacrifice, it might be a moment that foreshadows the future. Remember, this is the first of three new films they're looking to make in the new Terminator series. Maybe the T-800 will be back... but in a newer body!
Time will tell whether this theory is correct, or just a case of a trailer doing its job; and we'll have to wait until Terminator: Genisys releases on July 1, 2015 to find out.
