The Most Ambitious Terminator Sequel Is One You Can't See Properly Ever Again

For the past several decades, we've enjoyed living in a world of near-instant gratification when it comes to media. Despite there being oodles of legitimately lost media, there are just as many books, albums, TV shows, and movies that are readily available and lovingly preserved. That's why it's so easy to catch up with series that are long-running and still very popular; sure, there may be a ton of "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" content out there, but you have the option to consume all of it should you wish to. Additionally, though it's not always feasible to have the experience of watching the likes of "The Empire Strikes Back" or "The Wrath of Khan" in a movie theater, the possibility of a repertory screening or re-release exists. If it's your dream to see an entire film series the way it was meant to be seen, in other words, it's hypothetically an achievable one.

Except, however, in the case of the "Terminator" franchise. While the majority of the films and TV shows included in the series are as available as anything else, there's one sequel which involved contributions from just about every major cast and crew member from "Terminator 2" that can no longer be seen properly ever again: "T2 3D: Battle Across Time," which closed in 2017 in Florida (2013 in Hollywood). To be fair, this sequel is one which generally isn't regarded as canon for the series, so it's not like you'd be missing out too much there. And yes, amateur fan videos of the film and experience as it was made for the Universal Studios amusement parks are possible to find online. Yet thanks to the series of innovations involved in presenting "Battle Across Time," the full experience cannot be replicated for home viewing. And thanks to co-director and co-writer James Cameron insisting on the amusement park event being a narratively proper sequel to the first two "Terminator" films, the experience remains the best "Terminator" sequel after the second film.

The concept of amusement park rides based on successful movies has existed for at least as long as Disneyland has. It was only a matter of time before someone got the idea to actually involve the filmmakers and actors in these attractions, too. This practice really took off during the 1990s, when things like "Star Tours" and "Back to the Future: The Ride" began incorporating filmed segments with some of the actual actors from the movies into the rides. Most of these appearances take the form of pre-show material and little cameos during the ride, and feature the most threadbare narratives in order to give attendees the feeling that they're in the movie.

Since the release of "T2 3D," there have been attractions which go even further in trying to make attendees feel like a part of the action ("Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance" is particularly impressive at that), but those are so immersive that the filmmaking and narrative elements are slim. When approached by Universal parks with the idea for a "Terminator" stunt show, attraction developer Landmark Entertainment's then-president, Gary Goddard (who has since been accused of sexual assault by multiple people), had the idea to make a hybrid stunt show and 3D film, essentially combining the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! and Captain EO experiences from the Disney parks. Cameron sparked to the concept so much that he didn't just sign over the rights to the property, but instead helped mount a huge $24 million short film, which would become the centerpiece of a three-pronged presentation.

In addition to John Bruno, Stan Winston, and other key effects personnel from "T2," Cameron brought back actors Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, and Arnold Schwarzenegger to reprise their roles, thus making the short the next (and, to date, final) collaboration between Cameron and Schwarzenegger as director and actor after "True Lies." After pre-show material shot by Goddard and Adam Bezark, the main show involved live stunt performers interacting with pre-taped footage of the actors (whom the live performers were rehearsed to mimic) leading into Cameron's 12-minute short, which then climaxed in another live portion where the stunt performers blew up Skynet and the T-1,000,000. As you can see, there's no way that this experience could be easily replicated: To put it in today's premium format terms, you'd need to combine three digital IMAX screens with a 3D 4DX theater, while also hiring live actors and stunt performers. In every way, "Battle Across Time" was one of a kind.

It'd be one thing if "T2 3D" were just a neat but forgettable attraction for tourists. Yet Cameron's intent was always more grandiose than that. As he stated in a making-of featurette: "They'll go in thinking it's just some gimmick, and they'll see that it's actually a continuation of the storyline. It's almost like a third 'Terminator' film. It's just that you can't go to see it in a theater in your neighborhood." Obviously, no 12-minute short (or 30-minute experience, as the entire attraction's runtime was) could truly count as a fully-fledged third "Terminator" movie. Nevertheless, Cameron's intent comes through in "Battle Across Time." The basic plot is simple: Sarah Connor (Hamilton) and her son John (Furlong) have been on the run since the end of "T2," trying to stomp out the rise of the killer AI Skynet anywhere it appears to be reemerging. The park attendees happen to be at a Cyberdyne Systems presentation which seems to promise the Terminator nightmare starting all over again, so Sarah and John are there to stop it. So, however, is the T-1000 (Patrick), who's arrived to try and terminate them.

"Battle Across Time" fits into "Terminator" continuity nicely ... provided you accept that the end of "Judgment Day" wasn't the final eradication of Skynet for all time, but merely moved the date of its arrival. Yet the "Terminator" series, as established by Cameron's first two films, is all about reversals, and Cameron introduces such a great doozy in "Battle Across Time" that it's wild no one has attempted it in a proper "Terminator" film since. During the T-1000's attack on the Cyberdyne presentation, the T-800 shows up from a time portal, and takes John back with him to the future, where the war against Skynet rages in a ravaged Los Angeles. There, the Terminator and John battle various killer robots before heading to blow up Skynet itself, which the spidery T-1,000,000 is guarding.

Although "Terminator 3" allows Judgment Day to happen at the end, "Terminator Salvation" takes place entirely in the future war, and "Terminator Genisys" messes around with the continuity of the series via time travel, it's "Battle Across Time" that most feels like the next logical narrative step for the story after the first two films, bringing a young John (or Sarah) into the future to fight Skynet there. It reverses the fish out of water element of the first films, giving it a full circle feeling that's been missing from most of the subsequent "Terminator" movies. In fact, the attraction's plot comes from a deleted idea for the opening of "Terminator 2." In this way, perhaps it's best to think of "T2 3D" not as a missing sequel, but as an alternate ending for the "Terminator" saga. Like Judgment Day itself, it existed for a short time, but has now has been terminated ... and it only lives on in the memories of those of us who experienced it.