‘I lived with this trauma for a long time’: Terminator Renaissance director plans better ending for fans

Released in 2009, following James Cameron’s two essential first opus and the more questionable Episode 3 (but also two other films that were much less well-received), Terminator Renaissance is unlike any other installment in the famous saga. Directed by McGee, the feature film by Christian Bale and Sam Worthington explores the future of humanity after a machine-induced apocalypse for the first time.

Considered by some to be one of the best Terminators ever, this fourth installment, a bit of a “special series,” didn’t convince all viewers when it came out. Its director, who recently signed a family comedy to Netflix, recently returned to the mic for his film. ComicBook.comDiscusses his frustration with some fans’ reactions:

“We did everything. We got Jonathan Nolan to write this movie, there was a writer’s strike at the time. We got Christian Bale, it’s hard to do better than that. We really got everything we could.”He confided before adding that he experienced some backlash during the theatrical release and that there was a completely different alternate version of his film.

“A lot of people liked that movie. It didn’t have the effect I expected and I lived with that pain for a long time. There’s a version somewhere with a completely different ending, but I can’t. Don’t reveal it yet. It’s extremely dark.”

Always at the microphone ComicBook.comMcGee goes on to say all the good things he thinks about his screenwriter and his cast, taking on the main criticism that might be leveled at the film:

“It’s interesting because I feel like we’ve done a lot of good things Terminator, but in the end we got it wrong enough that the fan base was attacked a little bit, and that really broke my heart. (…) I guess it’s my turn to take the heat for not really sticking with the final version of this movie. And who knows, maybe a hidden version of the movie will be the solution. It’s darker! I don’t know, it’s up to the fans.”

When we look at the audience ratings for the Terminator saga on AlloCiné, we realize that Renaissance is far from the “worst” part of the saga, quite the contrary. Indeed, apart from the first two films signed by James Cameron, McGee’s film is even the highest rated feature film (3.3 out of 5 stars average).

Want to see an alternate ending to this movie?

(Re)discover all the hidden details of ‘Terminator: Renaissance’…