Back in 2009, the Terminator franchise tried to make a big comeback with McG’s Terminator Salvation. Now, while the movie earned $371M worldwide, against an abysmal 33% RT rating, people seem to have forgotten one detail. Helena Bonham Carter, famous for playing Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter, donned the role of the villain who could have changed everything.
The actress starred as Serena Kogan, a mysterious scientist with a dark secret. But surprisingly, a significant amount of her scenes were cut from the final film. That’s because the studio chose to focus on the faceless corporation Skynet as the recurring villain, instead of Carter’s Serena. Now, looking back, it feels surprising to know how she could have saved the film from being forgettable.
The table contains basic information on Terminator Salvation:
McG Criminally Reduced Helena Bonham Carter’s Role Despite a Great Backstory
Helena Bonham Carter’s role in Terminator Salvation was much bigger compared to what fans eventually saw on screen. After all, appearing as Serena Kogan, Carter became the first semi-human villain in the franchise, who started off as a human, but became part-Terminator, after Skynet’s technological advancements saved her life from cancer.
So based on this storyline, Carter was supposed to bring a new kind of villain to the series, someone who was not just a machine but also had human feelings and a tragic past. She was set to be different from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s original Terminator and Judgment Day
This made her story so powerful. However, following the movie’s reshoots, although Serena appears in the finished version of Terminator Salvation, her role is dramatically reduced. Apparently, this change was brought after the studio feared that fans would want Skynet to play a bigger role. Additionally, there was another factor stated by ScreenRant.
Turns out, there were also complaints that Helena Bonham Carter played the role too “campy”. But that seems like hardly a problem, given how over-the-top both Robert Patrick and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic roles in the series are. So eventually the studio cut most of Carter’s scenes. But director McG later hinted that his version gave her a much bigger role.
Losing Serena’s character made Terminator Salvation feel less unique and robbed the movie of a villain who could have stood out. After all, her characters’ mix of humanity and machine would have made her different from the usual emotionless Terminators. She could have added depth and new emotional layers to the film.
Bellatrix Lestrange Remains Helena Bonham Carter’s Greatest Villain Role
Even though Serena Kogan was cut short in Terminator Salvation, Helena Bonham Carter remains immortalized for playing Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter films. She joined the franchise with Order of the Phoenix and donned her unhinged, dangerous, and completely unpredictable role for the rest of the films.
And every time she appeared, she simply stole the scene with her energy and madness. What made Bellatrix special was how over-the-top Carter played her. From her laugh to her intense eyes, she gave fans a villain who was both terrifying and entertaining. Unlike Voldemort’s cold, calculated menace, Bellatrix was emotional and chaotic.
That’s what made her a perfect match alongside the Dark Lord and even turned the role into her greatest villain performance ever. So much so that her performance is still praised today among Potterheads and even casual moviegoers. So while Terminator Salvation never gave her the chance to create another iconic villain, Bellatrix Lestrange stands as proof of Carter’s talent.
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Terminator Salvation is currently available in the US on Hulu.
Harry Potter films are currently streaming in the US on HBO Max.
