Tim Miller explains John Connor’s role in Terminator: Dark Fate

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

MAJOR SPOILERS for TERMINATOR: DARK FATE. Consider yourself warned. John Connor has been an integral part of the TERMINATOR franchise since the very beginning, when Skynet sent a Terminator back in time in order to kill his mother (Linda Hamilton) before he was even born, thus stopping John from becoming a leader in the human resistance which will one day bring about the end of Skynet. Like the other films in the franchise, TERMINATOR: DARK FATE also features John Connor, but there's been something of a controversy regarding how his character has been handled.

Those of you who have seen TERMINATOR: DARK FATE know that the film begins with a scene set several years after the events of TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY with Sarah Connor and John relaxing at a beach in Guatemala. However, another  T-800 who had been sent back in time by Skynet arrives and immediately murders John. While speaking with THR, DARK FATE director Tim Miller discussed why John Connor had to die.

You'd think it [killing John off] was probably a controversial decision, but it really wasn't. There was a lot of talk at the really early stages of should this new savior be someone who was connected to the Connors? Should it be John's daughter or something like that? Which I was always against, because I'm just not a fan of the Chosen One sort of movie as much as I am of a hero sort of rising to meet adversity, who could be an everyman or an everywoman. I identify with those people much more than I do with Neo in The Matrix or King Arthur or something like that. So I was all for this being some new person that wasn't connected to the Connors and had been chosen by the hand of fate.

At the end of the day, John Connor's death also served to add some fuel to the arc of Sarah Connor. "We all knew a couple of things. One: Sarah Connor is not a happy character. She is best when she is driven and tragic and you need some rocket fuel for that. You can't have John be a 36-year-old accountant somewhere. And really, when you think about it, he could be sort of a pathetic figure as a man who had missed his moment in history and was relegated to this banal, ordinary existence, when in fact had Sarah not chosen to destroy Cyberdyne, he would be the leader of humanity. Nobody wants to see that," Miller said. "Secondly, [John's death], that's rocket fuel for Sarah. And lastly, you need to clear the stage for these new characters. They are not going to be able to have their moment, or come into their moment, with John hanging around. There's just no good way to do that." Miller also explained that the death of John Connor made for a shocking opening sequence to cue the audience in that this film would be different.

Everybody was in pretty strong agreement, and the way to start it, was really, you want to have this dramatic impact. You want to slap the audience in the face and say, "Wake up. This is going to be different." I feel like that accomplished that. I hate the violence of it. I hate the idea of a kid being shot, but the dramatic fuel that it gives the story is kind of undeniable.

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE is now playing in theaters, so be sure to check out a reviews from our own JimmyO and Chris Bumbray!