James Cameron has just made a major reveal about the next movie in theTerminatorfranchise, and it makes me incredibly optimistic about the future of the series. Despite the first twoTerminatormovies being great, the series saw a major drop in quality starting withTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines, one that the franchise has never fully recovered from. Luckily, franchise creator James Cameron has highlighted how the iconic sci-fi series will be undergoing a major change in the future, one that could finally redeemTerminatorafter years of disappointing sequels and follow-ups.
After a series of disappointing sequels, there was one hope for the return ofTerminator, with that being the2019 filmTerminator: Dark Fate.Terminator: Dark Fatehad everything that fans had wanted, with it bringing back many of the iconic cast members from the original films as well as seeing the return of James Cameron to the franchise. However,Terminator: Dark Fateended up being another disappointment, seemingly putting the final nail in the coffin for the franchise. However, recentTerminatornews has reignited my interest in the franchise, potentially setting the stage for a grand return to form.
James Cameron Moving Away From Old Characters Is Great News For Terminator
Terminator Needs To Reinvent Itself
TheTerminatorfranchise will go in a new direction in the next film, with it being revealed that the series will finally leave its old characters behind.James Cameron has confirmed that theTerminatorserieswill move away from the characters and iconography of the past, with him saying that future installments need to “jettison all the specific iconography.” UnlikeTerminator: Dark Fate, which heavily leaned on the franchise staples of the past, it seems like the nextTerminatormovie will take the skeleton of the franchise and create something new around it.
“This is the moment when you jettison everything that is specific to the last 40 years of Terminator, but you live by those principles. 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. That’s the danger, obviously, with Avatar as well, but I think we’ve proven that we have something for new audiences… 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 youthrow AI into the mix. Those principles are sound principles for storytelling today, right? So I have no doubt that subsequent Terminator films will not only be possible, but they’ll kick ass. But this is the moment where you jettison all the specific iconography.”
Moving away from the old characters is the best thing that theTerminatorfranchise can do, with it being the best path forward for the future.The story of Sarah and John Connor has been explored far too many times, and in a world as big as that of theTerminatorfranchise, there is no reason to anchor every story around these two specific characters. A world-ending war with AI has all kinds of potential for tons of unique stories, and an over reliance on stories of the past has been what has kneecappedTerminatorfrom being great.
James Cameron Has Finally Nailed What Terminator Needs To Reinvent Itself
It Needs To Go Forward, Not Back
James Cameron’s comments perfectly highlight what has gone wrong with theTerminatorfranchise, which is why it is so funny that the franchise’s own creator is the one who has pointed it out.TheTerminatorfranchise has essentially been spinning its wheels for the past 40 years, with nearly everyTerminatorfilm from the past four decades focusing on the same characters and situations. There is so much potential for theTerminatorfranchise to become something great, and you don’t need the Connors or Arnold Schwarzenegger to do it.
Linda Hamilton: Net Worth, Age, Height & Everything You Need To Know About The Terminator Actress
Linda Hamilton, the star of the Terminator franchise alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, has earned herself an impressive net worth over her long career.
Although James Cameron hasn’t given any specificdetails on the nextTerminatormovie, it is clear that the next project will be taking this direction. Cameron stated in the interview that these details are “more than a plan. That’s what we’re doing. That’s all I’ll say for right now.” So, while the nextTerminatormovie may still be a long way away, it is clear that Cameron and theTerminatorteam have a plan of how they will handle the franchise going forward. This is the most excitingTerminatornews that I’ve heard in years, and it is finally giving me hope that the series will find success once again.
Dark Fate’s Failure Was A Reminder That Terminator Needed To Change
Nostalgia Wasn’t The Best Way Forward
Terminator: Dark Fatewas theTerminatorfranchise’s big shotat redemption, and its failure is what made me and many others realize that theTerminatorfranchise needed to change. After years of failing to recapture the magic of the originals, I thought thatTerminator: Dark Fateneeded to go back to what made the original two movies great. When I heard that the 2019 film was bringing back Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger and was acting as a direct sequel to the original two movies, I was certain that this would be the franchise’s path back to greatness.
Terminator: Dark Fate Repeated James Cameron’s Biggest Movie Regret, And It Killed The Franchise
Terminator: Dark Fate’s opening scene featured a shocking twist that repeated a mistake creator James Cameron criticized in another iconic franchise.
Sadly,Terminator: Dark Fateended up feeling like a pale imitation of the original two movies rather than a proper continuation. WhileTerminator: Dark Fatewas better than some of the otherTerminatorsequels, it was far from the level of quality that the first two movies set, proving to me that relying on nostalgia was not the way to go. After tons of other legacy sequels have failed at using nostalgia in order to make a great film, I am now certain that the nextTerminatormovie needs to completely remove itself from the storylines of the sequels, with it almost acting as a standalone film.
Terminator Zero Already Proved Terminator Can Work With New Characters
The Netflix Series Revived The Franchise
Luckily, there is a precedent that aTerminatormovie with new characters can work, something that was proven byTerminator Zero.Terminator Zerois a Netflix anime based on theTerminatorfranchise, with it being set in the same universe as the films but focusing on an entirely different story and characters. The series follows a scientist in Japan named Malcom Lee who is attemtping to build a competitor to SkyNet in the year 1997, with a Terminator and a resistance figure traveling back in time and attempting to mess with his plans.
3 Connections Terminator Zero Season 2 Must Make to the Movies
Terminator Zero is very much a stand-alone story in the franchise, but season 2 should make a few connections to the films.
Outside of the original two films,Terminator Zerois the best entry in the franchise, with it being my favorite thing that theTerminatorseries has done in years.Terminator Zerofeels so fresh compared to the litany of stories surrounding John and Sarah Connor, with it proving that original stories set within theTerminatoruniverse is the way to go. If this plan could work for an animated Netflix series, then it could definitely work for another live-action feature film, proving to me that James Cameron’s ideas aboutTerminator’sfuture are correct.
Terminator
The Terminator franchise, launched by James Cameron in 1984, explores a dystopian future where intelligent machines wage war against humanity. The relentless pursuit of key human figures by time-traveling cyborg assassins known as Terminators is central to the narrative. John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance, is the core target of the malicious machines.
