News > "Terminator 4" Angles for PG-13

The pre-production buzz circling Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins" has had a lot of ups and downs. Down: McG is directing. Up: Christian Bale will play John Connor. Now we go back down again: The producers are making efforts to ensure that the film is rated PG-13.

As expected, it's the same old rationale. Halcyon co-CEO Derek Anderson rhetorically asks, "If we can make a compelling film to reach the widest audience, why wouldn't we do it?" His partner Victor Kubicek told Variety, "The ratings have changed. The PG-13 has increased in intensity."

This is all in spite of the fact that the "Terminator" series so far has been one of the highest grossing R-rated franchises of all time, with the three films grossing over a billion dollars worldwide. But then Variety aptly counters this argument by pointing out that "Live Free or Die Hard," the only PG-13 entry in the saga of John McClane, turned out to be the highest earning last summer with $382.1 million gross.

But putting money aside for a moment, the PG-13 is not the R-rating. And while they may be broadening the audience considerably, they're also disappointing the true fans of the series who have come to expect a certain level of mayhem and violence. 

One other thing I read that could be a new "up" is that Josh Brolin's name has been thrown around to play the new humanoid terminator. We should find out fairly soon hopefully, as production begins today.

-David Morgan