Everything Terminator 3’s Novelization Changed From The Movie

screenrant.com:

Although the novelization of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machinesis largely true to the 2003 movie, the book version of the sequel makes a few inexplicable changes to the narrative. It is not hyperbole to state that the Terminator franchise is not easy to follow at the best of times. Since 1984's original movie and its 1990 follow-up, the Terminator timeline has been repeatedly rebooted — first by 2009’s Christian Bale-staring Terminator: Salvation, and later by the 2015 critical failure Terminator: Genisys, and the 2019 flop Terminator: Dark Fate.

However, even before all of these cinematic retcons, the Terminator movies had another canon snag to contend with. The novelization of 2003’s sequel Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines featured a slightly different story from the movie itself, meaning there was yet another instance of the Terminator franchise confusing its chronology with contradictory versions of events. However, to be fair to the creators of Terminator: Salvation, Terminator: Genisys, and Terminator: Dark Fate, these reboots at least retconned the franchise’s story on purpose.

Related: Terminator 3: Why Sophia Bush Was Replaced By Claire Danes During Filming

In contrast, author David Hagberg’s novelization of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines changed such a small set of minor details that the switches almost seemed more like continuity errors than active storytelling choices. However, like the seemingly minor choice to cut Sarah Connor’s death from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, these small alterations to the story did have a big knock-on effect on the Terminator franchise as a whole. Despite this, the Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines novelization barely addresses the inconsistencies between the book’s