Why James Cameron’s Original Terminator Cut Its Darkest Scene
James Cameron’s earliest draft of 1984’s The Terminatorfeatured a dark, gruesome scene that was cut because it didn’t have much to do with the movie’s titular villain. There were a lot of scenes cut from director James Cameron’s ambitious first draft of The Terminator. In many instances, the iconic sci-fi helmer’s vision was too ambitious for his meager budget, resulting in stunning imagery ending up on the cutting room floor when the logistics of staging certain sequences proved impossible.
However, not all of The Terminator’s cut scenes were trimmed due to the movie’s budget. For example, the fate of Kyle Reese’s fellow time traveler Sumner, which was originally the grossest death featured in The Terminator’s script, was likely cut because the scene didn’t have any connection to the rest of the movie’s action. This meant The Terminator lost its darkest moment, although the sci-fi horror may have well have been better off without the tonally jarring scene.
Related: James Cameron's Subtle Terminator 1 & 2 Cameo Roles Explained
The Terminator’s first draft originally featured a pair of time travelers, Kyle Reese and his unseen companion, Sumner. However, Sumner died a brutal death in the movie's first draft when he got caught in a fire escape while teleporting into 1984. Like Terminator 2: Judgment Day’s darkest scene, this moment was cut from the finished movie. While the gruesome demise did draw attention to a sci-fi trope that few movies have addressed (namely, what happens when time travelers don’t account for structural changes when teleporting), the gory fate had nothing to do with the T-850 himself, meaning it was most likely cut due to being superfluous and potentially unintentionally funny as a result.
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