Terminator Genisys Screenwriters Talk Sarah Connor And Time Travel

When it comes to iconic franchises, few manage to outshine The Terminator. With a legacy stretching decades and millions of dollar, the Terminator series has inspired not only countless fans, but top talent looking to contribute to its rich mythos. Two of those talents include the co-screenwriting pair ofLaeta Kalogridis (Birds of Prey) and Patrick Lussier (Dracula 2000), who conceived the latest Terminator adventure, Terminator Genisys. Tasked with penning the latest Terminator story, Kalogridis and Lussier had to pump out a movie as capable as SkyNet’s T-800 robots.

With Terminator Genisys out this week, Comicbook.com spoke to the writing duo about their history with the film, making Sarah Connor an even stronger female protagonist, and more. And be sure to check our discussion with the film’s producers here!

How familiar are you with the Terminator franchise? Were you both fans of Terminator coming into the project?

Kalogridis: Yes!

Lussier: I saw the movie when I was a teenager, and I loved it. I saw Terminator 2 and I loved it. It’s been so cool to take it on in our way, from our unique point of views.

Terminator Genisys’ Sarah Conneris very different from the Sarah Connor audiences first met in the original Terminator movie. She spends a lot of the movie taking care of Kyle Reese and leading him through the action. Was it an intentional choice to make this Sarah as strong a character as possible?

Lussier: This version of Sarah that we meet has had years of training by the time Kyle comes into her life. She’s lived a broken life without a traditional parent – she’s grown up with training manuals asher bedtime storie. In the first Terminator movie Sarah is in an entirely different place. Our Sarah is much more prepared with much more possibility for badassery.

Kalogridis: As a feminist writer, I did have it in mind that I wanted to portray Sarah as capable, but also very sweet and vulnerable – because she is those things. This is our alternate reality version of the character Linda Hamilton started with.

What were some of the challenges you faced in writing a script that so heavily with time travel an alternate timelines?

Kalogridis: There is so much possibility, which is wonderful and trying. You want to the take the opportunity to explore different aspects of these characters personalities while respecting and preserving the traits that people have come to love.

Lussier: Picking and choosing which details to keep and which you feel good about altering.

Was evil John Connor part of the original pitch?

Kalogridis: Yes! [Laughs]

Lussier: He always was at some point. There was a scene where Arnold had tea with a 9-year-old Sarah – and he doesn’t do it very well.

Kalogridis: That’s one of the interesting possibilities in the time travel story. If John is a nexus and there are presupposed events, then what could be more dramatic than making him the bad guy?

Lussier: That’s the trouble with a time travel story.

How many drafts of the screenplay did you write before shooting began?

Kalogridis: We were writing all through production.

Lussier: There were two main drafts and, then changes needed to be made because of production restrictions, budgets, what actors were comfortable with.

Kalogridis: And swearing. Terminator Genisys is rated PG-13. The original story conceits were always there, though. Patrick and I wrote two main drafts.

How do you strike a balance between creating and original screenplay and picking out moments and lines to honor from the original Cameron movies?

Lussier: Very carefully. It’s a tough thing to do.

Kalogridis: I think a lot of it comes from our place of fandom – as a fangirl and a fanboy. It’s very easy to do homages poorly or in bad taste, and we really tried to handle the lines with – for lack of a better word – respect.

Lussie: You know you want some lines, like ‘I’ll be back!’ The challenge is not putting that in the first ten minutes of your movie, it’s finding a dramatic place to put it, because you know Arnold is going to play it so well and blow it out of the water.

What callbacks to the original Terminator films are you looking forward to seeing most? Let us know in the comments!

Terminator: Genisys hits theaters on July 1. Want to know when Hollywood’s other big blockbusters will hit the screen? Check out Comicbook.com’s Franchise Movie Release Schedule here!