Rev-9
This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. (November 2019) |
Rev-9 | |
---|---|
Terminator character | |
First appearance | Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) |
Last appearance | Gears 5 (DLC) (2019) |
Created by |
|
Portrayed by | Gabriel Luna |
In-universe information | |
Alias | Gabriel |
Species | Android |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Assassin Infiltrator |
Affiliation | Legion |
Manufacturer | Legion |
Model | Rev-9 |
The Rev-9 is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Terminator: Dark Fate, the sixth installment in the Terminator series.[1][2] In its human form, the Rev-9 is portrayed by Gabriel Luna.[3][4][5]
History
The Rev-9 is a Terminator model developed by Legion, an artificial intelligence designed for cyber warfare in a future timeline where Skynet's rise gets prevented. Legion dispatched a Rev-9 back in time to 2020 from 2042 with the mission of terminating Dani Ramos, a young woman who will proceed to lead humanity against Legion's forces in the future. Upon its arrival in Mexico City, the Rev-9 goes to Dani's home, only to find that she and her brother Diego have already left for their job at a factory. It kills their father and assumes his appearance as a disguise to infiltrate the factory. There, it nearly shoots Dani but is ambushed by Grace, a cybernetically enhanced human soldier sent from 2042 to protect her. The Rev-9 pursues them in a truck as they escape. During the chase, it exhibits its capability to split into individual units. It manages to kill Diego and corner Dani and Grace, only to be temporarily disabled by the sudden arrival of Sarah Connor, who attacks it using high-grade weaponry. Dani and Grace flee and later meet up with Sarah.[6]
Having lost its targets, the Rev-9 hacks into local surveillance cameras to reacquire them. It discovers the trio are heading to Laredo, Texas, where inevitably they would need to cross the Mexico–United States border. Disguising itself as a United States Border Patrol officer, it arranges their arrest, so that it can ambush them. The Rev-9 arrives at the Border Patrol detention center in Laredo and slaughters numerous Border Patrol agents and detainees but the trio escapes in a helicopter. By the time it is able to locate them again, they have allied with Carl, a T-800 Terminator left behind after Skynet's demise.
The Rev-9 catches up with its targets at a military base where they seek to acquire
Background
The Rev-9 is portrayed by
Miller wanted the character to be "lethal and capable, but not so lethal that our heroes don't stand a chance to fight against him," saying, "You want to have some limits and you don't want him to have plasma weapons, or ones that explode like a nuclear bomb, which would mean the movie will be over quickly."[14] Eventually, the filmmakers decided on a Terminator character that would essentially have a combination of the T-800's endoskeleton and the T-1000's liquid metal skin. The Rev-9 is shown to have a deeper personality than Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 character. Miller said the Rev-9 "is not some cold machine that has a limited personality like Arnold was. He is a fully featured character. He's more human than human, and if it's easier to charm his way past an obstacle versus kill it, stab it or break it down, he'll do that."[14] For example, in the film, the Rev-9 tries to convince the other characters to let him kill Dani, implying that he will show them mercy and let them go if they do, and tries to use logic to persuade the T-800 into joining him, stating that they were both built for the purpose of ending humanity.[15] During an earlier encounter with cops in Texas, it assumes a southern accent to blend in.[16]
Luna analyzed the first two Terminator films for guidance on how to portray the Rev-9.[17] His portrayal was also inspired by Ted Bundy and by Tom Cruise's assassin character in the 2004 film Collateral.[7][16] Luna explained "[We] certainly wanted to honor everything that had come before. There's no reason to remake the wheel when it's running so smoothly and seems to scare the pants off everybody. [We wanted to] find what worked really well (...) but I think that they wanted him to have a charming quality, an approachable quality. You know, the fact that Ted Bundy could walk up to you in a park and all of a sudden, you're gone. That always was there."[18] Luna also underwent physical training and fight choreography to prepare for the role.[17]
Luna said that the Rev-9's ability to learn and simulate human emotion ultimately becomes the character's weakness, stating that the Rev-9 grows frustrated with its failed attempts to kill Dani. As a result, it becomes increasingly focused on her while somewhat ignoring the other characters who come after it during the film's final battle.[15][16][17] Luna said that scenes were cut from the final film which would have further developed the character's personality and frustration.[16]
Dave Trumbore of Collider speculated that the Rev-9's name may have been inspired by the Biblical verse of Revelation 9, which mentions "the Destroyer." Another possibility is that it stands for "Revision 9," marking it as the ninth attempt to create such a Terminator model.[19] Chris Klimek of Slate believed that the Rev-9, in its disguise as a villainous Border Patrol agent, was meant as an allegory on immigration issues between the U.S. and Mexico.[20]
Abilities
The Rev-9's primary feature is the ability to split its liquid metal exterior and endoskeleton into two separate units. In addition to this, it possesses similar basic capabilities to the Terminators created by Skynet before its destruction. Like the T-1000 it is capable of shapeshifting to assume the appearance of anyone it touches and can morph its arms to form stabbing weapons and other shapes, such as hooks for scaling vertical surfaces. The Rev-9 exhibits more control over its composition than the T-1000, allowing it to use its polyalloy in more inventive and adaptive fashions. The endoskeleton is also shown to adjust its physical form to bend in an inhuman manner. The Rev-9 is also a skilled acrobat, able to make great leaps and climb treacherous surfaces with ease.[21][22] The Rev-9 is composed of carbon-based alloy, making it lighter and stronger than previous Terminators.[21] The Rev-9 can adapt behavioral responses (such as emotions) similarly to the T-800, either by choice or impulse, and its exterior can quickly heal itself after taking an injury, like the T-1000.[21][22] The Rev-9 is able to tap into servers and rapidly gain large amounts of information. Luna said that this ability allows the Rev-9 to do "very quickly what it took the T-800 decades to achieve."[15] Once connected to computer systems, it can control other machines linked to them such as drones as well as communications, essentially a computer virus that invades other programs and inserts its own code.
When the Rev-9 is separated into two units, its liquid metal form continues using a human disguise, while the other part takes the appearance of a metallic endoskeleton.[22]
See also
References
- ^ Evangelista, Chris (14 October 2019). "Sarah Connor Makes a Big Entrance in This 'Terminator: Dark Fate' Clip". /Film. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ LITTLECHILD, CHRIS (27 November 2019). "All Of The Terminator Models, Ranked By Power". Screen Rant. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
- Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- CinemaBlend. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Shepherd, Jack; Bradshaw, Paul (16 September 2019). "Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton are back in these exclusive images from Terminator: Dark Fate". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Knight, Lewis (26 October 2019). "Terminator Dark Fate ending explained and whether it finishes the franchise". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ a b Scott, Ryan (30 January 2020). "Gabriel Luna on Becoming the Rev-9 in 'Terminator: Dark Fate'". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ Gooden, Tai (August 30, 2019). "TERMINATOR: DARK FATE New Trailer Reunites Sarah Connor and The Termingator". Nerdist. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "Terminator: Dark Fate is the last chance for the franchise". Film Shortage. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Trumbore, Dave (May 23, 2019). "New 'Terminator: Dark Fate' Images Reveal Gabriel Luna's Two-Part Terminator". Collider. Archived from the original on May 23, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ Gemmill, Allie (29 August 2019). "New 'Terminator: Dark Fate' Image Is All About a Clash Between 2 Killing Machines". Collider. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Stone, Sam (11 July 2019). "Dark Fate Director Explains How New Terminators Differ from Earlier Models". CBR. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ GEMMILL, ALLIE (30 July 2019). "Terminator: Dark Fate's New Villain Rev 9 Explained". Screen Rant. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b c Davis, Erik (4 October 2019). "Exclusive Interview: 'Terminator: Dark Fate' Director Tim Miller Talks About Finishing Sarah Connor's Story". Fandango. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^ a b c Zachary, Brandon (6 November 2019). "How Dark Fate's Gabriel Luna Found the Dark Heart of the New Terminator". CBR. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d Bibbiani, William (2 November 2019). "Gabriel Luna Explains How the Rev-9 in 'Terminator: Dark Fate' is "the Ted Bundy of Terminators"". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- ^ a b c Jordan, Richard (25 October 2019). "Gabriel Luna interview: building a new Terminator". Den of Geek. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
- SYFY. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ Trumbore, Dave (23 May 2019). "'Terminator: Dark Fate': Everything We Know about the Brand-New Terminator Model". Collider. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ Klimek, Chris (4 November 2019). "In the 1990s, Terminator's Ultimate Evil Took the Form of a Cop. In 2019, It's the U.S. Border Patrol". Slate. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^ USA TODAY. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ a b c Elvy, Craig (3 November 2019). "How The Rev-9 Is Different To The T-1000". Screen Rant. Retrieved 4 November 2019.