Picking right back up from where Terminator 2: Judgement Day left off, James Cameron reunites with Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time in 28 years. Nearly three decades have passed since the last action-adventure where Sarah Connor changed the future for the human race by preventing Judgement Day.
Now a new and improved Terminator – a REV-9 travels back from the future to hunt and terminate newcomer Natalia Reyes’ character Dani Ramos. While living a simplistic life in Mexico City with her brother Diego, Dani must try to survive at all costs. Luckily she has a little help from an enhanced super-soldier from the future named Grace and a toughened more experienced Sarah Connor. Now where does the T-800 come into play with the three leading ladies? Well you’re gonna have to watch and find out but for now check out our interviews with the cast members below:
The Knockturnal: Linda returning back after so long how did this feel?
Linda Hamilton: Daunting. It was very daunting to even think of coming back and I took some time to really consider… was there something new to say? Could I do it? I didn’t want to let Sarah Connor down and that was really my prime worry. That I wasn’t going to be able to make a film that was as impactful as the first two.
The Knockturnal: When I saw the film last night and when you shared those scenes with Arnold the nostalgia came back, did you feel the same?
Linda Hamilton: Well, I haven’t seen the film you’ve got that one up on me but working with Arnold again was very nostalgic. We share a 35-year history and we get to bring that to the screen in front of the camera every day that we worked. Along with the relationship, there has been trust that has been built. When we had to really charge ahead and play difficult scenes that was there between us and it was definitely great to be with him again.
The Knockturnal: Sarah Connor goes through a character arc in this installment did you feel the same way? How would you describe her in this?
Linda Hamilton: I don’t think that I would have been interested in playing her if there weren’t some sort of character arc. We definitely had very complete stories in the first 2 films and quite the character arc between the two. If it’s Sarah Connor doing the same thing as the first two films it’s just diminishing returns. I’m 28 years older and who is gonna be interested in seeing the same thing?
The Knockturnal: How would you describe Sarah Connor in this installment then?
Linda Hamilton: Sarah Connor is in the worst place of her life and has probably been there for 25 years. So it is dark, hard, and painful. She is a woman without a mission, a woman without her son, a woman with no purpose, a woman without a country. That’s our leaping off point and oddly the relationships have kind of flipped where the terminator has gone through an evolution and has lived amongst man and is trained to sort of adapt to human behavior so he is much more human than Sarah Connor is at the beginning of the film and then we get to see what happens.
The Knockturnal: Now tell me, working with the director and producers to kind of keep this installment fresh and new but also paying homage to the original, how was that?
Linda Hamilton: Well, I’m never sure how they are going to work in a film. You know, I don’t love moments where there’s ‘wink-wink’ so you have to play the ‘wink-winks’ carefully so that they don’t just throw everybody out of the story and into something else. So we were careful with them and we had James Cameron at the helm and Tim Miller is a brilliant wonderful visionary who brought a whole fresh take to the franchise. So we’ve got our old team back with new eyes and fantastic talent. My ladies Natalia and Mackenzie were just the greatest surprise of my life that they could just stand with me every day and we would just uped each other’s game every single scene because we were just completely devoted to each other.
The Knockturnal: You two are the new leads of this new film and this new franchise, how does it feel to be a part of this iconic, legendary movie?
Mackenzie Davis: It was great. I mean we got to do it with Linda Hamilton and we got to spend almost every day, the three of us, for six months. I just had the most amazing time making it. It was tiring and hard and we were really pushed to our limits but we were able to make it with people that we loved and it feels amazing.
Natalia Reyes: Yeah I think I feel really proud of being part of this amazing movie and huge franchise to work among legends and people that you love and admire and a great director like Tim Miller. Also to be able to tell a great story. It was a great story back then and it’s so relevant to tell it right now you know because of technology and how we’re going to relate to it. So I think it’s great and it’s relevant and it’s updated.
The Knockturnal: Mackenzie one of my favorite parts of the film was when you tell Linda “I will fuck you up.” Working with Linda how was that like for the both of you?
Mackenzie: I mean she’s so ferocious and strong and dedicated and her inhabiting Sarah Connor just feels like this glove she’s stepping into. She just understands this woman and takes her really seriously and I think it just upped all of our dedication watching how seriously she was taking it. Outside of Sarah Connor, she is the most supportive loving encouraging person so it was wonderful and I loved telling her that I was gonna fuck her up.
The Knockturnal: Natalia having this Latino representation in such an iconic film, what does that mean to you?
Natalia: Well it’s an honor and I feel like it’s a big responsibility also because Latinos, we feel like we haven’t been represented in a fair or respectful way. It’s great that I finally got to read the script and found this character that was Latina and had nothing to do with drugs or prostitution or anything illegal. It was great to finally feel like you can go to the movies and feel represented in an accurate way. I think that it was time and this is the beginning and the start of a new era with a better and bigger representation.
The Knockturnal: There is a quote that they both of you say “There is no fate, but what we make for ourselves” Is that something you agree with in real life?
Mackenzie: Absolutely. I don’t believe in destiny. I think you are deciding your own path in every moment, so I do agree.
Natalia: I feel you just work hard and you try your best and there are so many circumstances that you need to align to get something, but you can do things. You can be the change and you can decide so I think you make your own fate.
Terminator: Dark Fate hits theaters everywhere Nov. 1! Check out the trailer below:
