Twenty-eight years after “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” Edward Furlong will reprise the role of John Connor in “Terminator: Dark Fate,” James Cameron announced during the film’s San Diego Comic-Con 2019 Hall H Panel on Thursday.
Cameron opened the panel in a live video call that was projected on Hall H’s giant screens. Cameron said that he wanted to be there in person, but with everyone “whinging” at him about how long it’s taken to get the “Avatar” sequels going, he thought it would probably be best if he stayed on set and kept working.
Cameron dropped the Furlong bombshell very casually, right before describing how “Dark Fate” is definitely director Tim Miller’s movie. Cameron said that he pitched in during pre-production and planning, but once production got underway, he bowed out and let Miller do his thing.
It wasn’t clear exactly how or in what capacity Furlong appears in the film. The matter wasn’t brought up again during the panel discussion; it was previously reported that Jude Collie had been cast as a young John Connor, serving as a body double with CGI used to recreate Furlong’s facial likeness in flashback scenes. Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.
The panel itself saw Linda Hamilton take the stage along with Miller and her fellow stars Natalie Reyes, Mackenzie Davis, Diego Boneta and Gabriel Luna — who plays the new Terminator. And, lastly, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was handed a $20 bill by Miller because he’d bet that Miller would say the f-word at least five times by the time Schwarzenegger himself came on stage. By Arnold’s count, he’d said it ten times.
Miller also confirmed the film will be R-rated.
Fans in the hall were also treated to a bit of “Terminator: Dark Fate” action in an extended version of the scene from the recent trailer, in which the characters played by Reyes, Boneta and Davis are in a pickup truck, being chased by Luna’s Terminator driving a dump truck. After that, a new teaser trailer rolled. The clip provided a small glimpse of the plot — in essence, Sarah Connor is the Kyle Reese of this movie and Reyes’ character, Dani, is where Sarah Connor was in the original “Terminator.”
“Terminator: Dark Fate” stars Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, Diego Boneta, and (apparently) Edward Furlong. Directed by Tim Miller and written by David Goyer, Justin Rhodes and Billy Ray — based on a story idea by James Cameron — it hits theaters Nov. 1.
TheWrap is in San Diego all week long for Comic-Con 2019 — check out all of our ongoing coverage here.