The Terminator or T-800 is both a film and a character, premiering in 1984, it was an instant cult classic. Directed by the one and only James Cameron and filmed in the iconic setting of Los Angeles, this was the most popular role of the bodybuilder Arnold Swartzeneger. While filming the first film it was rumored that the hunky male lead was still learning english, leading to his limited one screen dialogue. Still, what would become his signature line of “I’ll be back” was uttered in his signature accent. The initial plot consisted of the terminator “a cyborg assassin sent back in time from the year 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor.” He was sent by the artificial intelligence run Skynet Systems from the future to kill the mother of the human rebel leader, John Connor. Following the timeline of the first movie, the up and coming tech company Skynet would manufacture a system that would become self-aware and initiate a nuclear holocaust of mankind. The human faction of the future also sent back a hero to help the nearly defenseless Sarah Connor, the resistance fighter Kyle Reese. His heroics save Sarah and lead to their mutual romantic interest, which results in the conception of John Connor. This time loop part of the plot as well as the special effects of creating a human-like cyborg killer led this movie to be deemed by the American National Film Registry, as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
The success of this film led to the creation of multiple sequels including Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Terminator Salvation (2009), and Terminator Genisys (2015), with two more films planned to follow. All of this contributes to an iconic Terminator Costume and a widely recognized cosplay option.
Terminator Costume: T800
Terminator Costume: T600
Terminator Costume: Female Terminator
Terminator Costume: Accessories
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