Here's an interesting bit of information revealed by "Terminator Salvation" director McG in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. The talk concerns an alternate ending to the movie, a decidedly dark one which sounds as though it was never filmed. The article even states that the studio signed off on it, and that Christian Bale -- who plays humanity's savior John Connor -- was its staunchest defender.
Needless to say, spoilers ahead. So don't say I didn't warn you.
The ending would have worked like this, according to McG: "Connor dies, okay? He's dead. And Marcus [Wright, played by Sam Worthington] offers his physical body, so Connor's exterior is put on top of [Wright's] machine body. It looks like Connor, but it's really Marcus underneath. And all of the characters we care about (Kyle Reese, Connor's wife Kate, etc.) are brought into the room to see him and they think it's Connor. And Connor gets up and then there's a small flicker of red in his eyes and he shoots Kate, he shoots Kyle, he shoots everybody in the room. Fade to black. End of movie. Skynet wins. F--- you!"
Not too much of a downer, right? It certainly would have cast Sam Worthington's character in a different light, and may have even addressed some of the issues I mentioned in a post earlier today concerning the lack of a central villain. If nothing else, it would have been a clever twist on the usual portrayal of "Terminator" villains.
On the other hand, the darker ending would certainly have complicated any sequel plans. Not to mention the fact that the killing of Connor, his "future" (I use the term loosely) father and everyone close to him would have represented a significant departure from the previously established post-Judgment Day narrative. Not that that last point is necessarily such a bad thing; personally, I found "Salvation's" fatalist presentation of the story just a bit too "safe." Again, see my earlier comments for elaboration.
I also recommend clicking over and reading the EW piece. McG provides additional context for the unused ending -- which an Internet rumor almost had right -- and Bale discusses his staunch defense of the idea. A good read, through and through.
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