Seems like Arnie won’t be back after all. The Terminator film franchise has seen multiple iterations and revivals over the past 40 years, with undoubtedly mixed results. For James Cameron, writer and director of the first two films, what’s needed to bring the declining series back to its glory days is clear as day – a hard reset.
In an interview with Empire celebrating four decades of The Terminator, Cameron reflects on his plans to move away from the iconic cast of characters, instead focusing on new stories based in the same world. “This is the moment when you jettison everything that is specific to the last 40 years of Terminator, but you live by those principles,” he said. “You get too inside it, and then you lose a new audience because the new audience care much less about that stuff than you think they do.” Cameron certainly understands the risk of starting anew but is confident that what he has in store will appeal to both returning and new audiences.
Cameron’s concerns with the series’ current trajectory are warranted for sure, as the franchise has hit a snag as of late. The first two Terminator titles were instant hits and deemed by many as absolute classics, but the series eventually took a turn for the worse. 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines failed to live up to the high expectations set by its predecessors; 2009’s reboot Terminator Salvation was critically panned by critics and audiences alike, largely seen as the franchise’s biggest missed opportunity; 2015’s Terminator Genisys tried and failed to rejuvenate the series for the modern audience; and 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, a direct sequel to the second film, flopped at the box office. Clearly, the once-beloved franchise has seen better days.
Trying to reboot the series without legacy characters like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 and Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor might seem like a daunting task, but Cameron is up for the challenge, knowing full well what elements are needed to make the franchise tick. “You’ve got powerless main characters, essentially, fighting for their lives, who get no support from existing power structures, and have to circumvent them but somehow maintain a moral compass. And then you throw AI into the mix. Those are the sound principles needed for storytelling today”, he explained. The filmmaker firmly believes subsequent films in the series will not only be possible but also flourish.
Cameron, who is currently working on Avatar: Fire & Ash and its sequels, clearly has something in store for the Terminator series. “It’s more than a plan,” he concluded. “That’s what we’re doing. That’s all I’ll say for right now.”
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Natalie
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