TERMINATOR: DARK FATE Director Has A Message For Internet Trolls
In a new interview with Variety, Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller offers up some background on how he and novelist Joe Abercrombie (who consulted on the film) came up with the idea of a female-centric Terminator film:
“Joe came out with this idea that a new protector from the future is a machine fighter. It’s a painful life, and they’re scarred and take a lot of drugs to combat the pain of what’s been done to them. They don’t live a long time. It’s a very sacrificial role; they risk death to save others.
And from the very first suggestion it was always a woman. We had to look for someone who has the physicality, but I’m very sensitive to actors. I didn’t just want a woman who could physically fit the role but emotionally as well. Mackenzie [Davis] really wanted to do it; she came after the role. She worked harder than anybody.”
You may be surprised to learn that some fans have not been thrilled about a Terminator sequel revolving around Davis' character (and, indeed, such a female-heavy cast, which also includes Linda Hamilton and Natalia Reyes). Well, Miller has a message for those folks, too:
“If you’re at all enlightened, [Davis' character will] play like gangbusters. If you’re a closet misogynist, she’ll scare the fuck out of you, because she’s tough and strong but very feminine. We did not trade certain gender traits for others; she’s just very strong, and that frightens some dudes. You can see online the responses to some of the early shit that’s out there, trolls on the internet. I don’t give a fuck.”
Miller's saying all the right things here! Of course these people should fuck off (also, do we really need to point out that, historically-speaking, the Terminator franchise has generally featured a strong female element, and frequently featured a strong female lead?), but it's nice to hear a director so cavalier about not keeping the misogynists happy. Good on ya, Miller.
Now we just gotta wait and see if Miller made one of the good Terminator movies. We'll find out soon enough: Terminator: Dark Fate (footage from which we quite enjoyed at this year's CinemaCon!) will hit theaters on November 1st.
