The marketing for Terminator 2: Judgement Day was interesting because one of the major marketing decisions that were made was to reveal in the first trailer that Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s T-800 was going to be the hero of the story, protecting Sarah and John Connor instead of hunting them down and killing them. Fans would have flipped out on social media in today’s world if that kind of reveal was spoiled in the trailer! But, there was a reason for that.
During a recent Q&A session with Empire, James Cameron revealed that he was in charge of the marketing for the film and that this was his decision. Cameron was asked by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay about the big reveal in the Terminator 2 trailer, and if that was the result of a losing battle with the Marketing department. Cameron said:
“All of us have had our battles with the Suits, but the case you mention was not a battle. The Carolco guys, Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna were good partners with me on T2, and I led the charge on marketing, including showing Arnold [Schwarzenegger] as the good guy.”
As for why Cameron decided to take the marketing in that direction, he explained that because the reveal comes into the first act of the story, there was no reason to hide it from the audience.
“It wasn’t a ‘Sixth Sense’ kind of twist that’s revealed only at the end of the film. He’s revealed as the Protector at the end of Act One. And I always feel you lead with your strongest story element in selling a movie.”
He went on to expand on that a little more, explaining:
“I believed our potential audience would be more attracted to seeing how the most badass killing machine could become a hero than they would be to just another kill-fest in the same vein as the first film. Sequels have to strike a delicate balance between honoring the most loved elements from the first film but also promising to really shake things up and turn them upside down. Our marketing campaign was exactly that promise, and it worked.”
Cameron is definitely a master when it comes to developing and marketing sequels. It’s one of the reasons I’m so pumped up about Avatar: The Way of Water! That movie certainly looks like it’s going to shake things up.
When I look back on Terminator 2, I wish I could watch the movie with fresh eyes again having never seen it. That movie completely blew my mind as a kid, and I would love to experience that greatness again for the first time.