‘Terminator: Genisys’ Star Jai Courtney Confirms PG-13 Rating

What the heck is 'Terminator: Genisys,' other than a title that seems just plain incorrect no matter how you look at it? We know it's the fifth film in the once-great 'Terminator' franchise and that it features Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to the character who defined him as a movie star. We also know that Emilia Clarke will play Sarah Connor (farewell, Linda Hamilton). Now, thanks to Jai Courtney, aka the new Kyle Reese (farewell, Michael Biehn and Anton Yelchin), we know a little more.

Courtney, who you may remember (but probably not) as John McClane's son in 'A Good Day to Die Hard,' recently answered a series of question about the mysterious sequel/reboot and Coming Soon was good enough to compile his answers together. His first quote comes to us courtesy of The Huffington Post and it concerns the basic nature of the film in the franchise timeline:

What I can say is that we start in a place we're familiar with from the early films and then, you know, circumstances change. It somewhat shifts the course of events from that point. It's not necessarily a sequel or a reboot. I don't even know how you brand it correctly. We're not remaking one of the early 'Terminator' movies. And it doesn't necessarily carry on from the point where we left off.

In other words, they're following the 2009 'Star Trek' model -- they'll begin the movie operating within the established narrative before using time travel to wipe everything from existence and get a fresh start. That's how the film can get away with having a young Kyle and a young Sarah while having a downright elderly Terminator. That sounds goofy (and maybe even a little cynical) on paper, but it ended up working out quite well for J.J. Abrams and his Enterprise crew.

The second quote comes from The Arnold Fans and it's more difficult to defend:

I would love to see it be rated R, but I don't think it will. I think in this day & age, it's much more likely to be PG-13. There were no f-bombs. But there'll be a healthy amount of movie violence.

We're not going to say something stupid like "The 'Terminator' movies are awesome because they're violent!", but we will say "One of the reasons the 'Terminator' movies are awesome is because they're violent!" In all seriousness, the first two films have aged so well because they're seriously minded, smart science fiction action films that cater just as much to adults as to the kids who sneak into the theater. A PG-13 rating doesn't just imply a lack of gore -- it implies something safer and friendlier, which are adjectives that shouldn't apply to a 'Terminator' movie.

Anyway, Courtney also mentions that they may film the two sequels to 'Terminator: Genisys' back-to-back in 2016, but let's see how the first one does first when it opens on July 1, 2015.