Hollywood
Terminator 2 had an alternate ending without Schwarzenegger that could have ended the series
The scene was good enough for James Cameron, but it ended up being cut from the theatrical cut. Fans only found it in its home release.
‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’ with Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the most recognized science fiction films in history, a franchise in which the Austrian-born actor has participated in 5 of the 6 films in the saga, playing the role of the T-800, either as a protector or a murderous cyborg. In the second film (1991), directed by James Cameron, there was an ending that was filmed and that was not shown in the theatrical cut, in which everything could have had closure and thus the rest of the films would never have existed, a decision that fans could have appreciated, especially with the criticism of the later installments.
In this film, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is locked up in a psychiatric hospital, so she had to leave his son John Connor alone, who is in danger, since a dangerous murderous cyborg known as the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) came to the present to kill him and change history, but at that moment, the old T-800 also makes an appearance, but to protect the future leader of the resistance against Skynet.
The ending of ‘Terminator 2′ seen in theaters and home formats
After the sacrifice of the T-800 in the final battle against the T-1000 and the hug between John and Sarah Connor, the end of the film and franchise was left open, for possible sequels that would come in the future, something that happened in 2003 with the next film, ‘Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines’.
In the case of this ending, Sarah Connor narrates a voiceover in which she says “because if a machine, the Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too”, which was the idea of producer Mario Kassar, who convinced James Cameron not to close the franchise and continue exploiting this futuristic universe mixed with the present.
In that ending, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was not the protagonist, since despite being the protagonist of the franchise, in this film, the bulk of the story is focused on the Connors. In fact, the fate of the T-800 was the same in the two closing sequences.
What is the alternative ending of ‘Terminator 2′ in which Arnold Schwarzenegger had the same fate?
In this alternative ending of ‘Terminator 2′, Arnold Schwarzenegger, also dies after protecting John Connor from the T-1000, a few years have passed since what happened and Sarah Connor is a grandmother and her son is a proud father. Judgement Day never happened, so the saga would have closed forever.
“August 29, 1997 came and went. Nothing much happened. Michael Jackson turned 40. There was no Judgement Day.”, reflected Sarah Connor in the alternative ending of the film that can be seen in home format (DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K). While he relates those words of happiness, his surroundings look happy and full, something that does not happen in the film, since they live in constant danger of the present and future of humanity.
This was James Cameron’s favorite ending, but at the end of the day, he decided to change it to exploit the saga.
Do you stick with the happy ending of ‘Terminator 2′ or the open one that was seen in movie theaters and home formats? Would you have enjoyed the closing of the saga or do you appreciate its subsequent sequels?