"Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (commonly abbreviated as T3) is a 2003 science fiction film directed by Jonathan Mostow, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken. It is the sequel to The Terminator, released in 1984, and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day", released in 1991. It was released in the United States on July 2, 2003.
This film was Arnold Schwarzenegger's final starring role before becoming Governor of California. In order to ride a wave of publicity focused on Schwarzenegger, the DVD release of this movie was scheduled several weeks after the election. Warner Home Video released the film on HD DVD on May 9, 2006 in North America.
After the failure of Skynet to kill Sarah Connor before her son is born, and to kill John himself as a child, it sends back another Terminator in a last attempt before Judgment Day to wipe out as many resistance officers as possible, including John and his future wife.
A fourth film in the saga has been announced, and is slated to be released in 2008 or 2009, written by T3 writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris. To date, a cast list has not been released, but Arnold Schwarzenegger is not expected to reprise his starring role due to his Governor duties in California.
Cast
Besides Arnold Schwarzenegger, Earl Boen (Dr. Silberman) is the only actor to appear in all three Terminator films. Linda Hamilton was initially approached to reprise her role as Sarah Connor, but turned it down. John explains in T3 that Sarah died of leukemia in the year 1997.
In a 2005 interview on NPR's Fresh Air, Claire Danes revealed that she was cast for the role of Kate Brewster as a last-minute replacement, after actress Sophia Bush was thought too young to portray Kate Brewster. Danes started filming immediately, and basically learned about her character on the job. Danes later said this may have helped her performance, as Kate Brewster's character was similarly thrust into a strange new reality with no warning.
Kate Brewster's slain boyfriend, Scott Mason, was going to be named Scott Petersen, but was changed in order to avoid giving the false impression that this was a type of "reverse parody" of the Scott Peterson case surrounding the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn son Connor. The fact that there would have also been occurrences of "Connor" on both sides would have reminded viewers too much more about the Laci Peterson murders, and give them the misconception that the movie makers deliberately made a parody / reversal of the roles involved in the Laci Peterson murders. However, in the ending credits his name is still listed as "Scott Petersen." Wikipedia
