David S. Goyer, writer of Blade, The Dark Knight, Batman V Superman, and one of many the writers of Terminator: Dark Fate, recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his career highs and lows – one of which was ‘advocating’ for the return of Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) to the Terminator franchise.
THR asked the writer what he had wanted to see from the final edit of the sixth Terminator movie; given the accounts of a difficult working relationship between James Cameron and Tim Miller. Mr. Cameron having previously stated that:
“And the blood is still being scrubbed off the walls from those creative battles. This is a film that was forged in fire. So yeah, but that’s the creative process, right?
James Cameron told Cinemablend
THR asked David Goyer:
“Producer James Cameron and director Tim Miller have both been pretty candid that Dark Fate was a “bloodbath” fight between them editing that film. What did you want to see in the final edit?“
THR
“I had a very good experience with Jim on that film. Jim and I developed a remake of Fantastic Voyage that has yet to be filmed. We have a very similar story sense. I think the movie is a good movie. The thing that I’m most proud of is we got Linda Hamilton back into the franchise because her character in the film is amazing. I was part of the group that advocated for her to rejoin, and it wasn’t a foregone conclusion that she would. To me, the best part of the film is seeing her come back and seeing this incredibly badass woman at her age. So whatever happened with the reception of the film, I was just really proud of the fact that I had a small part in coaxing her back into it.”
David S. Goyer
On the changes made to the script for Terminator: Dark Fate…
“What’s the most painful specific change that somebody else made to one of your scripts?“
THR
“The films I thought reflected my work accurately were the Dark Knight films. I think Foundation does, the first seven episodes of FlashForward, the first couple of seasons of Da Vinci’s Demons, the first two Blade films. But I had ideas I wish I could have put in [Terminator: Dark Fate].”
David S. Goyer
Who knows what a David S. Goyer Terminator movie would have looked like had the studios had the confidence and conviction to support a singular vision, and not hire five writers (David S. Goyer, Billy Ray, Justin Rhodes, Josh Friedman and Charles Eglee) as well as all the extra writing / ideas from series creator James Cameron, director Tim Miller, fantasy writer Joe Abercrombie and Skydance Media head David Ellison.
Would you have liked a fully David S. Goyer written Terminator movie?