Both Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Terminator Genisys pulled the same trick of giving away game-changing spoilers, but this was a terrible decision for one of them. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action movies dominated the box office throughout the 1980s, so by the time he returned to his most iconic role in Terminator 2, expectations were already sky-high.

Of course, the James Cameron-directed sequel not only met expectations but surpᴀssed them, with Judgment Day being a critical and commercial smash that marked the apex of Arnie’s career. Sadly, the same can’t be said of Terminator Genisys. This fifth entry followed in the wake of two lame sequels, and most of Schwarzenegger’s movie comebacks like Sabotage flopped.

Genisys was intended to revive both the Terminator movie franchise and give Arnold’s career a boost, but while it didn’t bomb, its modest gross and terrible reviews (it sits at 26% on Rotten Tomatoes) have seen it labeled the series’ nadir. What’s worse is that it wasted a genuinely shocking twist in making humanity’s savior John Connor the new villain.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day & Terminator: Genisys Pulled The Same Trailer Trick

Nobody expected a nice guy Terminator when Judgment Day’s trailer debuted

The advent of the internet has made watching trailers a much bigger part of a movie’s promotional campaign, but back in 1991, theaters or VHS previews were really the only place audiences could find them.

That’s why many walked into Terminator 2: Judgment Day expecting Arnold to be the villain, so the first act reveal that he’s John’s (Edward Furlong) protector was a real surprise. That is unless some of those audience members saw the trailer, which made a meal out of revealing that Schwarzenegger’s new T-800 was programmed to save young John instead.

It’s interesting to contrast Judgment Day’s marketing with Genisys, with the fifth installment’s initial trailer being coy regarding plot details. It showed off some timeline retcons and an older Arnold T-800 fighting his younger self from the original, and while it was a decent teaser, it didn’t feel like it was adding anything innovative to the series.

The studio clearly panicked at the indifference this preview garnered, so the second trailer spoiled the reveal that Jason Clarke’s John Connor had somehow morphed into the T-3000 unit. This reveal certainly got people talking about Terminator Genisys – but not in the way Paramount hoped.

It was clear this was designed to be a twist audiences experienced on first viewing, but the chatter around the trailer spoiled this for many.

The trailer still kept some things a secret, such as the existence of Matt Smith’s T-5000 (AKA Skynet), but it was one of the worst examples of a preview exposing the key beats of a movie well before its release.

Why Terminator 2: Judgment Day’s Trailer Spoiler Worked

The protector twist only made audiences more excited for T2

It cannot be understated just how huge a star Schwarzenegger was back in the 1980s and 1990s, so even if he was playing a villain in Terminator 2, the movie was going to be a hit regardless.

Flipping the original film’s premise on its head not only made Judgment Day feel fresh, but it also tapped into Arnie’s image as the good guy. It was a shrewd decision on Cameron’s part, who admitted that Schwarzenegger himself was dubious that it would work; the star was also concerned that his Terminator didn’t actually kill anybody.

Terminator 2 had the best of both worlds; for people who saw the trailer, the protector angle made it a must see, and for those who walked into the theater blind, they were caught totally by surprise by the twist.

It helped that the trailer sold the hell out of the sequel, too, teasing some of the best money sH๏τs and the threat of Robert Patrick’s unstoppable T-1000. In short, it’s the kind of preview that gets bums in seats and raises hype, and it’s a great example of a movie that actually lives up to the awesome trailer.

Why Terminator: Genisys Using The Same Trick 24 Years Later Didn’t Work

Genisys’ spoiler-riddled trailer cooled hype for the sequel

Terminator Genisys essentially pulled the same move again when it spoiled John Connor’s turn to the dark side. Whereas Judgment Day’s trailer only heightened excitement, Genisys’ spoiler-filled second preview poured cold water over hype for the movie.

It was filled with cheesy comedy, the action sequences were loaded with CG, and it played like a two-and-a-half-minute summary of the entire story. The reveal of John as the T-3000 proved to be the kill sH๏τ.

In a summer blockbuster season that sported Mad Max: Fury Road, Jurᴀssic World and Inside Out, Genisys looked and felt behind the times. It had sacrificed what was clearly meant to be a surprise in the vain hope of raising more awareness, while also revealing it offered nothing new in terms of action.

Again, the Judgment Day trailer arrived at a very different time for pop culture, where if audiences even saw it, it was likely only once while previews for another movie.

In 2015, trailers were being dissected and pulled apart for easter eggs the minute they arrived. Given how tepid excitement was for the sequel, Terminator Genisys needed to pull out something special, and in doing so, it overreached badly.

In hindsight, it’s tricky to know what the studio should have done after the original teaser failed to generate buzz, but it feels like spoiling such a major reveal definitely wasn’t it. If anything, maybe it should have pretended Smith’s T-5000 was the main threat as a misdirect.

Is The Terminator Franchise Out Of Ideas?

Does the James Cameron saga have anything left to say?

What’s frustrating about the lesser Terminator sequels is that they all had pieces of interesting ideas that weren’t properly executed. Terminator 3 introducing a female villain was a given, even if the T-X lacked the menace of her two predecessors, while Salvation took place in the future war, as fans had long hoped for.

Except, this version of the war was a muddy, sun-baked and drab version that looked nothing like the nightmarish, laser-streaked glimpses seen in Cameron’s movies. Genisys had its time-travel shenanigans, and surely there was a version where John being the villain was a fantastic idea.

The series has struggled to find its footing since the second entry, and it might be time to admit the Terminator saga is best left alone. Cameron is said to be developing a seventh movie revolving around AI, but there is no sign of this happening in the immediate future.

That said, Netflix’s Terminator Zero anime offered both fresh tweaks to the series’ formula while proving it could work without the Connors as the focus. Maybe there’s hope for the future yet – let’s just hope the upcoming Terminator 7’s first trailer keeps spoilers to a minimum.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes