McG went from the music video scene in the late ’90s to helming a surprise box office hit with the big-screen adaptation of Charlie’s Angels in 2000. That film went on to gross $260 million at the worldwide box office and it made him a hot commodity to take on other projects. McG soon found himself working on one big franchise when he was chosen to direct Terminator Salvation, the fourth entry of the Terminator franchise which starred Christian Bale. The film was polarizing with fans and it received mixed reviews from critics. Could anything have turned things around? Well, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, McG discussed a filmed unreleased ending for the movie that fans may have actually enjoyed if it made the final cut.
McG was asked what he would have done differently if he could tackle Terminator Salvation again. That’s when the director revealed he filmed a much darker ending that he definitely would’ve gone with if he made the film today:
“I would have stuck with the dark ending that we photographed that got cut. There’s a lot about that film that people enjoyed. And, technically, we pushed some things forward. You can’t have a better actor than Christian Bale. And Sam did what he needed to do, and [we had] Helena Bonham Carter, and Bryce Dallas Howard. We tried to stack the deck. I tried, Terminator faithful, I tried.”
While Terminator Salvation ends on a relatively victorious note, the original ending was much bleaker. The planned ending had John Connor (Christian Bale) dying with his skin, including his face, being grafted onto Connor’s ally, the human-Terminator hybrid Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington). The theatrical ending that was ultimately used sees John Connor in a one-man rescue operation on a Skynet stronghold to rescue a young Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), the man who will eventually become his father, as seen in the original Terminator. Marcus eventually learns the truth behind his own creation, that he was designed to kill John Connor before he becomes the leader of mankind’s war against the machines. Connor rescues Kyle but he is mortally wounded after battling a T-800 that features Arnold Schwarzenegger’s face being digitally applied so it appears as he did in Terminator 2. In the end, Marcus sacrifices himself to save John Connor by giving his heart to be transplanted into Connor’s so that he may live. It’s a more heroic, albeit safe, ending that the studio probably thought would go down better with fans.
Released in 2009, Terminator Salvation is a post-apocalyptic film set in the year 2018. The primary focus of the movie is the war between Skynet’s machine network and humanity, as the remainder of the world’s militaries has united to form the Resistance to fight against Skynet. In addition to Bale and Worthington, the film also stars Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Michael Ironside, and Helena Bonham Carter. The film didn’t score with critics, registering a 33% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the box office also underperformed. On a reported $200 million budget, the film grossed $125.3 million at the domestic box office and $371.3 million worldwide.
Do YOU think the original ending for Terminator Salvation would’ve served the film better?