Alan Taylor says he struggled with the marketing campaign for the sci-fi sequel after decisions were made to reveal key plot details

Alan Taylor, the director of robot reboot Terminator Genisys, has spoken out over his struggles with the marketing of his new film.

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Taylor, who previously directed Thor: The Dark World, wasn’t happy about the spoiler-filled trailer which revealed some of the key changes to the Terminator timeline.

“I had a few heads-ups and a few unpleasant conversations where I squawked about this or that,” Taylor told Uproxx about his feelings on the campaign. “I think they felt like they had to send a strong message to a very wary audience that there was something new, that this was going to new territory.

“They were concerned that people were misperceiving this as kind of a reboot, and none of us wanted to reboot two perfect movies by James Cameron. I think they felt they had to do something game-changing in how the film was being perceived.”

A key twist was dropped in April with the second official trailer and Taylor was disappointed, especially given how powerful he thought the moment would play without any knowledge. “I certainly directed those scenes with the intention that no one would know,” he said.

He said that out of all the surprises he encountered during the shoot, “almost all of them to do with marketing”.

Taylor also spoke about his time directing the sequel to Kenneth Branagh’s Thor. “The Marvel experience was particularly wrenching because I was sort of given absolute freedom while we were shooting, and then in post it turned into a different movie,” he said. “So, that is something I hope never to repeat and don’t wish upon anybody else.”

Terminator Genisys has been picking up largely negative reviews with just a 26% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Guardian’s Henry Barnes called it “soft and phoney”.