TERMINATOR: DARK FATE – Could RESHOOTS = More Practical EFFECTS?

Well, it comes as no surprise, after a rise of negativity and complaints about the ridiculously over the top CGI action scenes/sequences in Terminator: Dark Fate, that a little damage limiting trip to Legacy Effects from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gabriel Luna has arrived.

Legacy Effects are the talent that worked with Stan Winston (and are highly respected by the fans), so this is technically Stan Winston Studios in heart and spirit.

We were more than excited to find out that Legacy Effects were involved with Terminator: Dark Fate on March 27th this year, when special effects make-up artist, Taylor Schulte, was interviewed by kittsonarea.com about her journey to Hollywood.

“Legacy Effects Studio is one of the largest in L.A., she [Taylor] said, and is known for working on makeups for the Marvel movies. The studio, which was originally known as Stan Winston Studios, did all the “Jurassic Park” movies and original “Terminator” movies. In fact, Taylor has worked on the new “Terminator” movie scheduled to come out later this year. “

Kittsonarea.com

We didn’t report on this news when it originally broke, out of respect for Legacy Effects.

Terminator: Dark Fate will feature practical make-up, creature FX and hopefully much more – but the concern is: will most of it be left on the cutting room floor, or get swallowed up by CGI… ?

We know that Arnold had battle damage practical make-up in Genisys but then they added horrid CG to it and it ruined the practical – also the severe lack of blood in Genisys stunted the work of Legacy Effects and the make-up artists.

Terminator Fans really love and respect practical effects, so the inclusion of Legacy Effects brings a sense of trust and calm but also now, a little skepticism – due to the lack of practical effects in Terminator Genisys and that Endoskeleton redesign, you know, the one no-one wanted… ?

A full sized Arnold Schwarzenegger was created for Genisys too and we barely saw it on screen (bar a few shots).

Though it is entirely possible that Arnold and Gabriel visiting Legacy Effects Studio could be an indication of the ongoing reshoots containing more practical effects; especially with both Mr. Schwarzenegger and Mr. Luna attending Legacy together – which may suggest that the final showdown of Terminator: Dark Fate (a struggle which seemingly takes place in water, as glimpsed in the first trailer) between Arnold’s T-800 and Luna’s REV 9, could be undergoing more practical reshoots.

It’s great to see Arnold and Gabriel on a trip to Legacy Effects, to see familiar faces like John Rosengrant, Shane Mahan and Brian Sipe – and with the commercial platform of Comic-Con looming, we still have hope that this newest installment isn’t a million light-years away from the franchise we fell in love with back in the darkness of 1984.

Though our fears for Terminator: Dark Fate have yet to be allayed (we are still waiting to see something that actually excites us and looks more TERMINATOR in style or tone), we’re tentatively awaiting the next trailer/footage.

We look forward to seeing what Legacy Effects have contributed to T:DF because right now we have little to no interest in the CGI.