The American filmmaker McG worked on a soft reboot of James Cameron’s Terminator franchise with stars like Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. The fourth installment in the film series is the only Terminator movie not to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger and did not receive a great response from fans. While many shared their criticism of the movie, others also stated that it was worth giving a shot.
However, the audience and critics were not the only ones. The film’s star Bale, who played the lead character John Conner, also shared his disappointment with the film and claimed that he would never work with its director again.
McG Wanted to Cast Daniel Day-Lewis Alongside Christian Bale
Starring Christian Bale alongside Sam Worthington, McG’s Terminator Salvation follows the war between the series’ antagonist Skynet, and humanity. The Avatar actor portrayed the character of Marcus Wright, a human-terminator hybrid, and was suggested for the role by James Cameron.
However, the movie’s director, McG, initially wanted another actor in the role. During an interview with Contactmusic, he shared that he wanted to cast Daniel Day-Lewis as the hybrid Terminator. “I’m looking for credible actors,” he said, talking about the movie’s casting.
He further stated that he already had one of the greatest actors in his cast and was looking forward to casting Daniel Day-Lewis. However, he was still skeptical about the offer, as he did not know if the Lincoln actor “goes in for this kind of movie.”
While Day-Lewis did not make it to the film’s cast, the American Psycho star was not too pleased with his decision to star in the movie. The actor has also shared his regrets about doing the movie and that he has no plans to work with the Terminator Salvation director again.
Christian Bale Claimed He Will Not Work With McG Again
Christian Bale was initially approached for the role of Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation, and he told Wall Street Journal that he “said no three times.” He believed that the sci-fi franchise did not have a story. However, he eventually accepted the movie and took the lead role of John Conner, seeing how passionate McG was about the project.
The movie grossed $371.4 million on a $200 million budget, and critics called the fourth installment in the Terminator franchise “silly, obtuse, and pointless.” Bale has stated that the film went through an “unfortunate series of events,” and he was able to see that things were not going as expected.
Reports also suggested that the actor was unhappy with the original script, as his character appeared briefly in the original draft. He claimed he was not the only one who disapproved of the initial storyline, and “everybody was saying that there needed to be changes made to it.”
However, despite all the efforts, the movie went on to be a commercial and critical failure and one of the worst movies of the highly acclaimed actor. The Dark Knight star later shared during an interview that he wishes him well, but he “won’t be working with him [McG] again.”
Terminator Salvation is available on Prime Video.
Source: Contactmusic, Wall Street Journal
