The dashing Patrick Lee of SciFi Wire spoke with Terminator 4 associate producer James Middleton about some rumors that have been swirling around the movie, including our own reports about the film centering on a new hero and John Connor having a limited role until the second and third movies. Turns out we were right, even as Middleton tries to spin it.
"It’s set after the events of [Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines], where we see the nuclear exchange at the end of the movie, and we show what the world is like after this event, and we show how people try to deal in a post-apocalyptic world," Middleton told SciFi Wire. "And we introduce a new character, who becomes very important to the resistance and to John Connor, a new hero. It’s really about the birth of a new hero."
Yes, a new hero named Marcus. But what about John Connor? What’s his role in this film? Thus spake Middleton: "I would look at him as a character that is introduced and that will grow in the second and third movies of the trilogy."
Zing, motherfucker, zing. Here’s what you have to keep in mind: Middleton isn’t going to piss off a legion of Terminator fans this early by saying that John Connor has a small role in the movie. Patrick doesn’t quote Middleton but says that the producer told him that Connor ‘will definitely be central in the film,’ but what does that mean? It certainly doesn’t dispute anything I’ve written, as I’ve said that while Connor has a small role in the film in terms of running time, the whole movie is about the society and resistance he’s creating. The story revolves around him, but he doesn’t get a lot of face time.
Middleton also addressed the annoying rumors that Arnold would be back for a cameo; this is the sort of thing that people should just obviously dismiss, as he’s the governor of California at the moment. He may be out of office in time to show up in the next film, but the idea of him shooting scenes for this film while running a state is ludicrous.