Linda Hamilton Reveals What Part of Sarah Connor’s Journey in Terminator: Dark Fate She Was Most Excited About

Terminator: Dark Fate disappointed a bit at the box office, but fans are hoping for a little bit of redemption from streaming services now. Series star Linda Hamilton talked to A.V. Club about her latest turn as Sarah Connor and what she was interested in for the film. The actress has never been one to bite her tongue and immediately spoke to the fact that it really gave her a bit more to chew on. John Connor has been a gravitational force over the course of the series and things change in a big way during Dark Fate. Hamilton was really looking forward to a fresh start of sorts.

“The fact that it launches from a completely new place, story-wise. That she’s no longer John’s protector,” Hamilton began. “The future has treated her badly, and she is just sort of an empty shell at this point with nothing but vengeance on her mind. And really empty because she doesn’t even love humanity. She was a woman standing alone, trying to kill the machines and not at all a fan of people. So to start there and to certainly do my work as an actress and explore and build on my greatest disappointments and sorrows in life, and how that makes me walk and how that makes me talk—to be able to do that level of work was really appealing. Launching a different story and the character in a new place.”

Well, what exactly does that mean for John Connor? Spoiler alert for the film, but he’s out of the picture rather quickly during Dark Fate. The Hollywood Reporter talked to the Sarah Connor actress about that giant surprise and she gave an insightful answer about what that would mean for her character.

“James Cameron’s decision to kill John Connor at the beginning of Dark Fate was very controversial amongst certain fans, but to me, there really isn’t a movie if Sarah isn’t fueled by her rage and hatred for Terminators. Plus, after five movies with John as a focal point, I think the franchise needed to forge a new path without him. I also tend to believe that Sarah wouldn’t join the new fight if her and John were both alive and well. So, where do you stand on the decision to kill John?,” THR asked.

“That’s a very good point that you just said. I don’t think Sarah and John would be there at all if they were still fine and strong. I thought it was a great leaping-off point for my character. To create a new fuel and fire for Sarah Connor, I thought it was a very good story point. I’m not one that clings to past ideas. Judgment Day is about John, but John wouldn’t exist without Sarah. Then, something else will happen, and Sarah will have to die. That is kind of the nature of life, and I would like that to be the nature of franchises where it’s not just the same story retold each time. I just think it’s much more interesting to launch from a new place,” Hamilton responded.