There’s a lot to unpack when you try and revisit the mythology in the first two Terminator films. What timeline are the films on and how does time travel affect the future? From this writer’s understanding, the events of the first two films are on a singular timeline with the events in both changing the future. There aren’t necessarily multiple timelines and therefore the finale of Judgment Day concludes the story. Or so we thought.

The biggest question mark with Terminator: Dark Fate, this time directed by Deadpool‘s Tim Miller, is as to how the events in James Cameron’s sequel set the stage for the third film (remembering that it retcons all other sequels). If I’m reading this quote correctly, may things are different – including the fact that Skynet is no longer the catalyst.

“There’s this new future because of what Sarah did at the end of Terminator 2, and it’s worse than ever,” Miller tells EW.

He goes on to reveal how the new “machines” are connected and teases their origins: “And that gives us the opportunity for these new characters. Gabriel [Luna] comes from something that is not Skynet, but it’s like Skynet. And Mackenzie Davis comes from something that Kyle Reese and the Resistance did.

“I tried to keep Gabriel a bit grounded while still interesting,” he added, “I feel his new weapons and abilities are right for our times but not so ridiculous that it just turns into a visual effects superfest. And the same with Mackenzie’s character — I really liked her origin story. We did an early writer’s room and Joe Abercrombie came up with her as this super soldier from the future, but it comes at a cost to be one of these people. They’re the first people to die, they’re the shock troops who protect the rest of humanity, and her readiness to sacrifice is a really interesting way to come at a character.”

This is all really interesting stuff because it eludes to the fact that the things that birthed the apocalypse aren’t what we thought they were – if all evidence of the machines were destroyed at the end of Judgment Day, what’s the catalyst in Dark Fate? Kyle Reese is somehow still involved, but what about John Connor? Are we going to find out he never joined the resistance in this new timeline?

Miller also teased more on the evolution of Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s T-800, which Squires touched upon yesterday.

“I don’t think people will be ready for what Arnold has become either, because it’s very different.”

Paramount is releasing the new movie on November 1st, 2019.