New ‘Terminator’ Reboot Is a “Love Story,” Says J.K. Simmons

Wondering what to expect from next year’s Terminator: Genisys, which reboots the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring time-traveling killing machine franchise for a new generation? J.K. Simmons, who’s starring in the movie, has offered an unexpected tease: “It’s a love story.”

Talking to ComingSoon, Simmons said that he wasn’t sure he wanted to be attached to the project initially. “I thought, ‘Well, obviously it’s a gigantic movie and on that level, it’s something most actors would want to be a part of, but is it just going to be the formulaic yadda-yadda-yadda then cut to the stuff blowing up?’ But I found the script to be really much more intelligent and fun and funny and well-rounded and heartfelt,” he explained. “It’s a love story. It’s a really interesting script. They got great actors. I wrapped that in August, so that was another movie that ended up being really satisfying on all levels.”

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Simmons was anxious not to offer too many hints about the movie’s plot, saying “Most of my stuff was with Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke and Arnold [Schwarzenegger] was very involved or rather I was involved in a fair amount of stuff with Arnold. … I felt I could give too much away by saying that I get to work with all those actors, but people know the characters that they’re playing.”

For those not in the know, Courtney plays Kyle Reese and Clarke plays Sarah Connor in the new movie, so a time-traveling freedom fighter hailing from a futuristic robotic dystopia and the woman he’s been sent back in time to protect, respectively. In former Terminator mythology, Reese and Connor are the parents of John Connor, who grows up to lead the rebellion against the robotic despots and who sends Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor in the first place — potentially explaining Simmons’ “love story” comment. Simmons himself plays a detective investigating a case involving Connor and some robots, according to earlier reports.

Directed by Thor: The Dark World’s Alan Taylor, Terminator: Genisys will be released July 1, 2015.

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