You’ve seen the commercials for Terminator: Genisys, of course. And if you’re like me, you lie awake at night wondering: WHY ON EARTH WOULD SKYNET SEND A REALLY, REALLY OLD-LOOKING T-800 BACK TO THE PAST? Why would you even MAKE a robot that looks like a 70 year old man? Well, now we have an answer. Sort of. During an event at LA’s Egyptian Theater for the 30th anniversary of The Terminator‘s original release, James Cameron explained that while he was not a part of the Terminator: Genisys production in any official capacity, he did give some friendly advice to producer David Ellison about how Arnold Schwarzenegger could be a reeeeeeally old-looking robot from the future.

I pointed out that the outer covering [of the Terminator] was actually not synthetic, that it was organic and therefore could age. You could theoretically have a Terminator that was sent back in time, missed his target, and ended up just kind of living on in society. Because he is a learning computer and has a brain as a central processor he could actually become more human as he went along without getting discovered.”

Got it. Old skin. And that’s why Ahhhhnold can be in not only this Terminator film, but also any others in the future. (via Cineblend)