Summary
- Each actor portraying John Connor brought something unique, from twists on the character to different performances.
- Terminator Zero introduces a new take on the franchise by not featuring the Connor family.
- Actors Edward Furlong and Christian Bale leave lasting impressions with strong performances.
The release of Terminator Zero on Netflix makes it the first entry in the long-running Terminator franchise not to feature the Connor family in any way, including John Connor. Not only does this allow Terminator Zero to stand out on its own, but it also helps the anime break free from the curse of recasting John Connor once again.
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Starting with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, six different actors have portrayed John Connor throughout the movies, for better or worse. While some proved to be well-written and acted versions of the character, others suffered from a poor script and execution that left audiences with a bitter taste.
6 Nick Stahl
Terminator 3 Subverted Expectations But To Disappointing Results
- The third actor to portray John Connor.
- Appeared In Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines.
With John Connor being an adult in Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, many would expect John to have grown up into a strong hero ready to be a rebel leader. Instead, Nick Stahl's portrayal of the character is revealed to be a drunken transient living on the streets, and fans were not happy with this version.
It was a bold move to subvert expectations, but Rise Of The Machines suffered by making John the farthest thing from a heroic character. For over half of the film's runtime, John is an unlikable, whiny, and uncaring person who feels nothing like John, who was so much more mature for his age in the previous movie. He improves as the film goes along, but still feels like a far cry from the John Connor of legend.
5 Michael Edwards
The Silent And Scarred Leader Of The Human Resistance
- The first actor to portray John Connor.
- Appeared In Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
There is not much to say about Michael Edwards' take on John Connor, since he is only shown briefly in Terminator 2: Judgment Day during the opening Future War sequence taking place in the post-apocalypse. However, in the literal seconds that audiences see him, it is clear that he has been through a lot of action, as shown by his scar.
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There was an alternate ending to Terminator 2 that showed a bright future with an older Sarah observing an adult John Connor with his own family. Even then, Michael Edwards had no dialogue, but he showed how John could be a great resistance leader and a family man, depending on the timeline.
4 Jason Clarke
Evil John Connor Showed Potential That Was Wasted By Terminator: Genisys
- The sixth actor to portray John Connor.
- Appeared in Terminator: Genisys.
The concept Terminator: Genisys presents is not a bad one. With Skynet losing the Future War, it makes one last attempt to win by converting John Connor into a powerful model of Terminator known as the T-3000. With Jason Clarke taking over the role, it could have been one of the better twists in the franchise, but this take on John Connor was wasted on a lackluster movie despite having a strong actor in the role.
The biggest problem with Jason Clarke's evil John Connor is that the role was spoiled in all the marketing for Terminator: Genisys. In the movie, it is treated as a massive reveal when almost every viewer knew it was coming going in. Also, since Genisys was only the first part of a planned and canceled new trilogy, many of the ideas that could have made John Connor more interesting never came to be.
3 Thomas Dekker
Sarah Connor Chronicles Fleshed Out John Connor On TV
- The fourth actor to portray John Connor.
- Appeared in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Before Terminator Zero, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was the first TV series in the franchise. It focused on John Connor during his high school and young adult years, with Thomas Dekker taking on the role. While the series had many ups and downs, Thomas Dekker delivered when it came to portraying John, showing him as the future Resistance fighter taking on horrific robots as well as an angsty teenager.
Unfortunately, The Sarah Connor Chronicles was canceled after two seasons, so John's story was never completed. However, the changes that Thomas Dekker's John goes through feel more natural and in line with what was established with Terminator 2, even when he makes rash decisions or butts heads with Sarah over certain choices.
2 Edward Furlong
Judgment Day Introduced John Connor To The World
- The second actor to portray John Connor.
- Appeared in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Most fans think of Edward Furlong in Terminator 2: Judgment Day when they think of John Connor. This is when the character was officially introduced, but in a way, it subverted expectations as well. He starts as a sassy and bratty thief who shows little respect, but this is mainly due to his upbringing by Sarah. He even uses the Terminator to harm someone who is simply concerned about his well-being.
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However, as Terminator 2 progresses, John shows more humility and arguably more humanity than Sarah and the Terminator do in certain sequences. His bond with the T-800, played by the iconic Arnold Schwarzenegger, is an unorthodox portrayal of a surrogate father and son, but it helps show how much John grows up throughout the movie's runtime, and how he's on the first steps to becoming a hero.
1 Christian Bale
Terminator: Salvation Brought John's Character Arc Full Circle
- The fifth actor to portray John Connor.
- Appeared in Terminator: Salvation.
In Terminator: Salvation, Christian Bale plays John Connor. However, this version of John has dealt with Terminators his whole life, which has made him a rugged warrior. He's heartless and distrustful, but as the story unfolds, he realizes that being unfeeling would make him no different from what he's fighting, and he becomes the leader that Skynet has feared since the first movie.
John Connor and Marcus Wright's stories collide, allowing John to shine, especially in the latter half of the story when he infiltrates Skynet to save dozens of human hostages from being destroyed by the Resistance. Christian Bale gave an intense performance in Terminator: Salvation, just as he did with Batman, and could have become the signature face for John if he'd stuck with the series.
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