‘Terminator 2’s Multiple Versions Feature Timelines It Could’ve Explored

Long before there was any general discourse over theatrical vs director’s cuts, Terminator 2: Judgment Day hit theaters and blew the minds of everyone who returned from seeing the original. No longer was James Cameron‘s The Terminator just a low-budget sci-fi slasher, but now an action blockbuster with state-of-the-art special effects and groundbreaking twists that makes T2 still the best of its kind. But after its initial stint in theaters, other versions of Terminator 2 began appearing on subsequent home video releases, and sometimes it’s hard to keep them all straight. What do the different versions all mean?

There Are Two Main Versions of ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’

When Terminator 2 hit theaters in 1991, fans were pretty stunned at the reversal of roles, as Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s Terminator ended up being the hero and Linda Hamilton‘s Sarah Connor was no longer a frightened damsel in distress. This, coupled with our first real introduction to John Connor (via Edward Furlong) and the truly terrifying T-1000 (Robert Patrick), made Judgment Day come alive as a much bigger production than its predecessor. The unaltered theatrical cut of the film runs at 137 minutes, which equals about two hours and some changes, and the whole time we’re gripping the edge of our seats. It’s a fantastic film as it is, and James Cameron undoubtedly understood that. Yet, there were some scenes left on the cutting room floor that would return.

That December, after Terminator 2 left theaters, the film began appearing on home video mediums such as VHS and LaserDisc. This wasn’t surprising, but what might’ve shocked fans upon its initial release was in 1993, the “Special Edition” LaserDisc made its rounds across America, adding another 15 minutes of footage to the previously completed film. With a total runtime of 152 minutes, the “Special Edition” (sometimes incorrectly referred to as “The Director’s Cut”) is a bit of a beast to work through, but it never feels that way. According to Cameron himself, this cut was produced to further expand the world rather than a George Lucas-ish revision. “I see it not as a fix, but as an opportunity to do greater justice to the characters who live and breathe within the 136-minute confines of the film,” the director told The Los Angeles Times. “This ‘Special Edition’ in no way invalidates the theatrical cut. It simply restores some depth and character made omissible by theatrical running time and now made viable again by the home theatrical/laser-disc format.”

As far as fans of the Terminator franchise are concerned, you might be hard-pressed to find many who don’t consider T2 their favorite installment (and if they don’t, it’s likely they prefer Cameron’s original outing). But while most can agree on Judgment Day‘s general superiority, there is debate about whether the original theatrical cut or the “Special Edition” is the better way to watch. Of course, this isn’t like how Lucas reworked the original Star Wars trilogy to include a handful of new shiny effects. Rather, the elements that Cameron added back into T2 actually build on what’s already been established. Instead of creating simple retcons, it just aims to answer some added questions we might’ve had.

The “Special Edition” of ‘Terminator 2’ Adds Much-Needed Context

There are a few questions that the theatrical cut of Terminator 2 leaves us with. How does the T-800 begin to learn on its own? Why does it seem that the T-1000 is relatively easy to defeat in the end? And why is Sarah so easily trusting of the Terminator that looks exactly like the machine that once killed Michael Biehn‘s Kyle Reese? While you could argue there are answers to each of these questions peppered throughout the theatrical cut of the film, it’s the “Special Edition” that gives us more palatable answers. In this version, we see more of Sarah’s time in the Pescadero State Hospital (including a dream sequence where she reunites with Kyle, making Sarah a bit more vulnerable than before), more of Miles Dyson’s (Joe Morton) home life, and some additional moments in larger sequences.

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Perhaps the most notable scene in the entire “Special Edition” is the “chip flipping” scene in which John and Sarah remove the T-800’s CPU, flip off the learning inhibitors put in place by Skynet, and argue about their need for the machine protector. Not only does this scene help explain how the Terminator is able to learn on its own (something that Skynet wouldn’t want), but it also adds some extra depth between John and Sarah. More than that, it helps us to better understand why Sarah ultimately decides to work alongside the Terminator, and gives her an outlet to truly voice her displeasure with the situation. This scene would become a major backbone for the television series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, in which characters would often reprogram Terminators or remove their chips to destroy, err, terminate them.

There are other things to like about the “Special Edition” too. It adds a moment where the T-1000 discovers that the T-800 lied about John’s dog over the phone, gives Sarah some horrific nightmares about Judgment Day, and adds a scene where John asks his would-be father figure if he’s afraid of death. Of course, it also expands on the idea that, after the T-1000 is frozen by liquid nitrogen, the machine doesn’t work properly after engaging with the extreme heat in the plant. The T-1000 is seen here melting into its surroundings, and it struggles to keep its composure, exposing a previously unseen weakness in Skynet’s design.

The “Extended Cut” of ‘Terminator 2’ Features an Entirely New Ending

Believe it or not, there’s one other cut of T2 out there beyond these main editions. Released originally in 2000 with the “Ultimate Edition” DVD re-release is the “Extended Cut” (sometimes called the “Ultimate Cut”), which, frankly, is the worst of the three. This version of T2 gets some points for adding in more T-1000 material, with the Terminator searching out John’s bedroom for any clues as to his whereabouts, but that’s about it. The only other new material the “Extended Cut” adds is an alternate ending set in the restored future, where an older Sarah watches over an adult John (with Michael Edwards returning from the film’s Future War intro), who is now a senator, and her grandchild. While it’s a fun alternate ending that works great as a special feature, it doesn’t work nearly as well when actually inserted into the film.

The beauty behind Terminator 2‘s original ending is that it doesn’t reveal the future. It may have changed, it may not have, but it’s left up to us to ultimately decide. As John and Sarah barrel on down the highway, all we see is the endless road into the future, and it’s clear that our heroes still believe that there’s no fate but what we make for ourselves. By inserting the future ending into the “Extended Cut,” this version robs the audience of being able to make the same choice Sarah and John do: to believe in fate or not to. While subsequent sequels would capitalize on the idea that Judgment Day is inevitable, the way Terminator 2 ends allows us to decide for ourselves which path to take, and in so doing, we choose which timeline/ending to follow.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.

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