MovieChat Forums > Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Discussion > Is T2 canon?

Is T2 canon?

posted 6 years ago by BlackMass (1008)
16 replies | jump to latest

T2 goes against a few rules laid down in T1. Kyle told Silberman that his journey had destroyed the time travel facility ("they blew the whole damn place... nobody else comes through"), yet two more androids are sent back in T2. He also said time travel requires the "field generated by a living organism", which the entirely metal T-1000 lacks. On top of that, T1 indicates that Terminators are not mass-produced Arnie lookalikes: Kyle has to wait until it moves on Sarah in order to "zero him", and Franco Columbu plays another of the same.

T2 is a blast, but I tend to think of it as a bonus title, rather than a canon Terminator film. What about you?

[–] ghostboy (652) 6 years ago

I think a new timeline was created inadvertently, by Sarah Connor killing the original terminater, it's possible that machine was then found and developed earlier on, so then when the future came about, the Terminaters like the T1000 were more advanced as well as the time travel capabilities. I don't know, tho, just a theory

[–] wearsalan (5554) 6 years ago

James Cameron seems to think it is canon and he made both this and the first movie.
But you are right to say there are some discrepancies between what was established in the first movie and what then occurs in the second movie.
I used to love this movie, but now I get a bit too picky with it. I mean the original Terminator killed anyone in its' way. This one allows them to live despite not been told not to kill until later in the movie by John. There are so many other things (like field generated by a living organism etc...), that I am unable to ignore these days, so I tend to just watch the first movie.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

[deleted]

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

"This one allows them to live despite not been told not to kill until later in the movie by John. "

i guess thats because you cant have the good guy wasting people willy nilly.
you could explain that thus: he was reprogrammed to help john (by future john, or his tech savvy buddies) they probly put in a "try not to waste too many people" directive - which later had to be upped on the priority list by young john.

also - i'm not convinced big bad T1 killed anything in his way. I bet he let the punk he got the clothes off live

[–] wearsalan (5554) 5 years ago

i guess thats because you cant have the good guy wasting people willy nilly.
you could explain that thus: he was reprogrammed to help john (by future john, or his tech savvy buddies) they probly put in a "try not to waste too many people" directive - which later had to be upped on the priority list by young john.

The Terminator was simply programmed to help/protect John. John even says (about the guys who dissed him), 'You were gonna kill those guys'.

also - i'm not convinced big bad T1 killed anything in his way. I bet he let the punk he got the clothes off live

If said punk gave him his clothes he is not in his way though. Like the truck driver he told to get out.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7704) 6 years ago

No. It is cannon. Besides, I go by the theory that the T-1000 has the ability to mimick human flesh. Hence him being naked when he comes through. Also John would not have told Kyle that another Terminator was sent through to a different time. Why would he? It would distract him from his mission of protecting Sarah.

[–] wearsalan (5554) 6 years ago

Besides, I go by the theory that the T-1000 has the ability to mimick human flesh.
^^^^
Whats that got to do with the 'field generated by living organisms'?

Besides that, the official reason it was able to travel through time was because it wore a skin sac. Neither reason was used in the movie though.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7704) 6 years ago

Everyone has their own theories. Frankly you'd hate to be in my family where most everyone likes Terminator 2 more than the first movie.

[–] wearsalan (5554) 6 years ago

I too used to like T2 more than the first. Not so now though

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Maybe it DID wear a skin sac! We don't see the T-1000 appear in the bubble, now do we? It may have shed the disgusting thing as soon as it could!

[–] wearsalan (5554) 5 years ago

There is nothing to suggest it did other than the film makers toyed with the idea but binned it due to it being similar to a scene in Alien.

[–] FFNogoodnik (775) 6 years ago

How did he know "they blew the whole damn place... nobody else comes through"? It must have been intact to send him through and once he went there was no way of him knowing what happened after.

Kyle's actions in Terminator of waiting to "until it moves on Sarah in order to 'zero him'" does not mean that each individual one is different. T-800 series could have multiple "skins" and each skin was used to produce several Terminators.

He also said time travel requires the "field generated by a living organism"

While this is not cannon, I see a scene that was not filmed going something like this:

FADE IN:

INT - TIME TRAVEL FACILITY - NIGHT
Soldiers include John Connor, Kyle Reese, Kate Brewster are gathered round the device that will send Kyle Back in time.
Kyle is slowly removing his clothes

KYLE: Do I really have to be naked for this? In front of everyone?

JOHN: Yes, unfortunately you see the time travel device requires a ...
JOHN PAUSES AS IF TRYING TO THINK OF A REASON

JOHN PAUSES TO HOLD IN A SNICKER
JOHN (cont): "field generated by a living organism"

OFF SCREEN: KATE IS HOLDING IN A LAUGH OF HER OWN

KYLE: Isn't there some type of protective robe I can wear?
JOHN (growing frustrated): Look, do you want to bang my mom or not? If you do you have to go through naked.
KYLE: OK, fine, let's get this over with.

KYLE has disrobed and JOHN presses a set of buttons on the console. A flash of lights happen and Kyle is Gone.

KATE walks over to John and gives him a $5 dollar bill
KATE(laughing): I never thought you could convince him to get naked in front of all of us. I really loved the line about a "field generated by a living organism", that was hilarious.

KATE HAS A LOOK AS IF SHE IS REMEMBERING SOMETHING WITH PLEASURE

KATE: We now know that he definitely is your father.
JOHN: Why is that?
KATE(with a mischievous smirk): You obviously inherited something very special from him

KATE THEN KISSES JOHN

PORN MUSIC STARTS

END SCENE

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7704) 6 years ago

That made me LOL, FFNogoodnik!

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Kyle's journey did NOT "destroy the TT facility", as you put it. If I remember, the T2 novelisation clears up these issues of the plot, so just go ahead and read that.

[–] Starman (412) 5 years ago

Since 91 I have perceived every single Terminator as a film that stands on its own separated from the others, film franchises are not mini series shows filmed back to back, except for extremely few cases. T2 has its own universe, like all the others. That way I like to watch Terminator end without assuming T2 continues the story, instead I imagine myself how it continues. People should engage in discussions about possible futures after each Terminator films, how everyone thinks it goes on without relying on films to tell them. T1 and T2 seem so great when you don't know what the future holds at the end. In 84 and 91 no one was promised sequels, now people assume sequels are meant to come and show more or explain more, people were left a lot more to their own imagination then. For this reason I prefer to watch sequels first, and then maybe originals later on.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

The new timeline was created during the Thanos snap, don't you know anything?