Deleted Scenes

Lore & Background

The scenes cut from Terminator 2 include Kyle Reese appearing to Sarah in a dream and encouraging her to continue fighting, Sarah being beaten in the hospital, the T-1000 killing John's dog, John teaching the T-800 to smile and discussing whether it fears death, the T-1000 malfunctioning after being frozen in the steel mill, and additional scenes with Dyson's family. Arnold Schwarzenegger unsuccessfully rallied to retain his favorite scene, in which John and Sarah modify the T-800's CPU so that it can learn and Sarah attempts to destroy the CPU; it was replaced with dialogue indicating that the T-800 already possesses the ability to learn. The scripted ending, set in an alternative 2029 in which Skynet was never created and John is a US Senator, was changed to one in which the characters look out at the road ahead.

Reader's Guide

A "Special Edition" LaserDisc released in 1993 featured a 15-minute extended version of Terminator 2 that restored deleted scenes. James Cameron did not call it a "Director's Cut" because he considered the theatrical releases to be definitive and the extended versions an opportunity to restore depth and character. The 2000 "Ultimate Edition" DVD added an "Extended Cut" containing a scene of the T-1000 inspecting John's bedroom and the alternate ending. Other films have deleted scenes as well: one shows the police lieutenant Traxler still alive after being shot by the Terminator, and a humorous scene removed from Terminator 3 by director Jonathan Mostow says the Terminator's human appearance was based on Chief Master Sergeant William Candy.

Did You Know?

• Miles Dyson's daughter Blythe appears only in a deleted scene in the special edition release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
• The alternate ending of Terminator 2: Judgment Day shows Sarah alive and well 30 years later, an elderly grandmother, with John a Senator in a world in which Skynet was never able to start its war.
• Special editions often include these scenes as bonus features rather than integrated into the main story.