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Kyle Reese

Kyle Reese is a fictional character in the Terminator franchise, Kyle is the protagonist of the first film and a supporting role in other works. Kyle Reese is portrayed by Michael Biehn in The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Jonathan Jackson in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009), Anton Yelchin in Terminator Salvation (2009), and Jai Courtney in Terminator Genisys (2015).

Not to be confused with Kyle Rees.

Kyle Reese

The Terminator (1984)

Terminator: Resistance – Annihilation Line (2019)

James Cameron
Gale Anne Hurd

Male

Sergeant

Resistance soldier

Resistance

  • John Connor (adoptive father, Terminator: Infinity comics)
  • Tara Holden (adoptive mother)
  • Dennis Reese (father)
  • Mary Shea (mother)
  • Derek Reese (brother)
  • Tim Reese (brother)

Sarah Connor

John Connor (son)
Jane Connor (daughter)

Los Angeles, United States (b. ~2002, d. 1984)

"Dungeons & Dragons" (2008)

"Born to Run" (2009)

Jonathan Jackson
Skyler Gisondo (young)

Video games[edit]

The Terminator: Dawn of Fate (2002)[edit]

Kyle Reese appears in the video game, The Terminator: Dawn of Fate, developed by Paradigm Entertainment, set before the events of the first film. He was voiced by Julio Cesar Cedillo.

Terminator Genisys: Future War (2016)[edit]

Kyle Reese appears in the mobile MMO strategy video game, Terminator Genisys: Future War, created by Plarium. The events of the game take place in the alternate, post-apocalyptic future timeline of Terminator Genisys, where an older Kyle becomes the leader of the resistance movement against Skynet instead of John Connor.

Terminator: Resistance – Annihilation Line (2019)[edit]

Kyle Reese appears in the first-person shooter video game, Terminator: Resistance, created by Teyon. The events of the game take place in the original future war depicted in the films The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, featuring multiple possible endings. In the downloadable content (DLC) "Annihilation Line", released in December 2021, and set during the middle of the main game's campaign mode, as Jacob Rivers, the player teams up with Kyle Reese to rescue a group of people captured by Skynet.[2][3]

Production background[edit]

It was originally scripted that Reese and another soldier, named "Sumner", were sent to protect Sarah from the Terminator, but Sumner died upon arriving after the time portal fused him into a fire escape (the first two sequels show the time displacement field melting through whatever object is in the way; e.g. Terminator 2: Judgment Day shows the field melt a hole in a chain link fence when the T-1000 arrives, and obliterate part of a semi truck when the T-800 arrives). In the original script, Reese says to Dr. Silberman, "The Terminator had already gone through. Connor sent two of us to intercept it, then zeroed the whole place, but Sumner didn't make it." Sumner would later appear in a Sarah Connor Chronicles episode and make it alive through the time portal with Kyle's brother and two other Resistance time-traveling agents.


Arnold Schwarzenegger was the original choice to play Reese, but director James Cameron ultimately decided to cast him as the Terminator instead. According to Schwarzenegger, O. J. Simpson was one of the first choices to play the Terminator opposite Schwarzenegger's Reese, but Cameron decided against it on the basis that Simpson would not be believable to audiences as a killer.


Michael Biehn almost did not get the role of Reese because, at his audition, he spoke in a Southern accent after having just auditioned for a role in a stage production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof earlier that day and could not shake the accent. The producers did not want Reese to have an accent. After Biehn's agent explained the situation to the producers, he got a second audition and won the part. The original scriptment gave Reese's age as 21, while a later draft gave his age as 22. In real life, Biehn was 27 years old at the time that he was cast as Reese.


In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Michael Biehn reprises the role of Kyle Reese; Sarah Connor, under heavy sedation, imagines him visiting her in a mental institution. Largely unchanged from his appearance in the first film, he embraces her and implores her to go to their son's aid, reminding her that "the future is not set." This scene was removed for the original theatrical release, but restored to the extended editions.

Reception[edit]

Michael Biehn's performance was met positively with critics, highlighting his ability to develop Reese's wounded core and longing despite the fast-paced nature of James Cameron's first film[4] and for playing the heroic role "unusually sensitive".[5]


Anton Yelchin's performance in Salvation was also praised,[6] described as "spirited"[7] and being the film's "secret weapon".[8]


Jai Courtney, however, was universally considered miscast,[9][10] described as a "dull-witted meathead" compared to Biehn's "skinny, bright-eyed, and very sweet" Kyle.[11] Criticism was also made of Courtney's acting,[12][13] total lack of charisma[14][15] and over strong physique for an actor playing a character supposed to have grown up in a nuclear wasteland.[16]