15 Things That Almost Ruined The Terminator Franchise
13. Recasting John Connor
Due to Edward Furlongs personal issues, he didnt return to the franchise after Terminator 2, though he was initially cast for T3, before he had to turn it down. That means - like all of the other actors chosen to play the character - he only once portrayed the future military leader. Michael Edwards played future John in Terminator 2; Nick Stahl in Terminator 3; Thomas Dekker in The Sarah Connor Chronicles and of course Christian Bale in Terminator Salvation.
Theres certainly no rule which states a franchise must use the same actor for a character, but that said, the jump from one to another and a lot of emotional connectivity to the character is lost.
Take Stahls depiction: an off-the-grid gloomy guts who takes menial work instead of utilising his impressive tech skills, this Connor is a world away from Furlongs spunky pre-teen. Of course, people mature, but its as if these different performances are in fact alternate John Connors. Each born in a splintered timeline, they betray certain characteristics introduced in Furlongs version.
It could have been worse though: Chris Klein once auditioned for the role.