They are back! Terminator: Dark Fate team meets the press in Seoul

The team of the Terminator franchise's latest addition, Terminator: Dark Fate are in Seoul, where they met selected press and media from the continent. Cinema Express was present at the meet which had actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, and Gabriel Luna, and director Tim Miller, in attendance.

Schwarzenegger began by confessing that he finds promoting a film as fun as shooting it. "As promised, I am back. I am back with a great cast and director Tim Miller. It's a great film, and at the test screenings, it got a great response," he said. 

Calling it a miracle to be a part of a franchise for more than three decades, Schwarzenegger went on to say, "James Cameron told me to play the Terminator in 1984 and it was a film that elevated my career. Only after that that did I get offered a lot of action scripts such as Commando and Predator. Then we did the sequel, which went to become the most successful film of that year. With Dark Fate, it's fantastic that many of us are coming back after so long. Tim understands action and visual effects, so he's a great addition to the team."

When asked if his age hinders his performance, the veteran actor replied: "I don't feel my age because I train every day. To quote a line from Terminator Genisys, I might be older, but not obsolete."

Speaking about having female actors headlining the film, director Miller said, "I think the prominence of women in the Terminator franchise has always been there. The first film was about Sarah Connon and the second was about her protecting John. Dark Fate will continue the trend as it is about the decisions Sarah has made and how she continues her journey. The events of Terminator 2: Judgement day changed the future, so she has to deal with the new future which gives way to newer characters."

Miller also added that the latest addition follows the trinity that the franchise is famous for. "There's the prey, the hunter, and the protector. Gabriel plays the hunter, Arnold plays both hunter and protector, Mackenzie and Linda are also the protectors, while Natalia is the prey. There are many films where men pick up guns and defend people. I grew up on them and I love them. But it is more interesting to me to have women step into that role, mainly because it hasn't been done much before. They bring a whole new dimension to the action."

Natalia Reyes, who plays Dani, a helpless woman caught in the middle of the mayhem — similar to Sarah in the first film — spoke about the dynamic between the two characters. She said, "Sarah has already been in Dani's shoes and that's why she is helping her. It was such an inspiration to work with Linda. She was absolutely respectful and professional."

Linda Hamilton, on her part, said she was glad to work with Schwarzennegger after so many years. "We shared a great bond and then we lost touch when he became the Governor. He was awfully busy. Working with him again truly feels amazing. We worked out together for a year for this film," she said, to which Schwarzenegger interjected with: "For me, it was absolute heaven when James Cameron said that Linda would be back. She raised the bar so high with Terminator 2 and I think no woman can be as much of a badass as she was. Everything she did in that film — the jumping, the shooting — everything looked convincing because of her body, for which she trained for months."

He went on to add, "The question was how to top it after all these years. I knew that she started training from the moment she knew she was on board. To do that at the age of 60 is a different ball game altogether. When I saw her on the sets, handling the guns, I knew that Linda Hamilton was back."

Echoing those thoughts, Miller said, "There are many times when doing a film where you imagine something, but you don't know if it will work until the last moment. We did the costume test with Linda and I remember the day vividly. When she walked in with the costume, I could see how much she enjoyed feeling like a badass, and I knew that this was going to work."