Linda Hamilton on the spoiler-y moment in Terminator: Dark Fate

Linda hamilton in terminator dark fate
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Exclusive: Linda Hamilton talks us through one of the key early sequences of Terminator: Dark Fate.

Around the time of the release of Terminator: Dark Fate last autumn, we had the pleasure of interviewing one of its stars, the brilliant Linda Hamilton.

At one point, the conversation turned very spoiler-y, and in the interests of fairness, we thought it right to hold that material back until people had the chance to actually see the film. Now, with the movie available on home formats and on demand, we’re bringing you that part of the interview.

There are massive spoilers ahead, so scroll below Hooch the Spoiler Guardian at your own risk.

We’re not going to explain the sequence, as we figure that if you’ve got this far, you know what’s coming

That opening sequence cut right through me because when you see Sarah and John young again and then he’s decimated, after decades of thinking he’s safe was a shock to the system.

This is going to upset a lot of people and a lot of the fan base who just think that it has to remain true to the first two stories. The whole concept of Terminator, that John Connor is the hope for the future of mankind and then to have him cut down like that. I think it’s going to upset a lot of people!

Did you film your part in that opening sequence yourself, or did they mostly use CGI?

I was there only to give guidance, I guess.

You know not really in any supervisory role, but [director] Tim [Miller] wanted me to bear witness, since she is the woman that they cast for her body mostly, for resembling Sarah Connor back in the day. And it was really hard to watch on every level and just the way that she fought.

She was an actress and a good actress in her own right, but not Sarah Connor and I had very little control over how she performed.

I did step it up right away and say “no, no, no, no, no you can’t just toss her aside! She’d get back up, you can’t just hold Sarah, you know she’d be biting, scratching, elbowing, grabbing his arm.”

I remember telling the stunt man and this woman that you’ve got to fight harder, this is your son that he is shooting to bits and she would grab – oh and it’s not Arnold either – so she would grab Arnold’s body double and she’s grabbing his arm and I’m like “No grab the arm with the gun! Not just any arm the one with the gun!” [laughs a lot]

And you know to try to teach someone right there how to be fierce, how to be Sarah Connor, was an edgy moment and then they put my face, younger face on digitally.

So I had almost nothing to do with that scene, they assembled it… so I had to match her performance vocally because they put my face onto her body, but they had to match her performance with my face and I had to match… Oh my god it was so confusing and not very satisfying! [laughs]

You can read the full interview without the spoilers, here

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