TheTerminatorfranchise has not been downright “good” since 1991’sTerminator 2: Judgment Day, but hopefully that’s about to change. In 2018, the rights to theTerminatorfranchise revert back toJames Cameron, and the originator of the series has been working with current rights holderDavid Ellisonto make plans to reinvigorate the series. Word leaked in January that Cameron waslooking to oversee a newTerminatorreboot, withDeadpooldirectorTim Millereyed to take the helm, but nothing has been officially announced just yet.
However, in speaking withNews.com.au(viaCS), Cameron reveals that he’s envisioning not just one franchise reboot, but a new trilogy:
“The question is — has the franchise run its course or can it be freshened up? So I am in discussions with David Ellison, who is the current rights holder globally for the Terminator franchise and the rights in the US market revert to me under US copyright law in a year and a half, so he and I are talking about what we can do. Right now we are leaning toward doing a three-film arc and reinventing it.”
Of course, a newTerminatortrilogy wasalsothe plan whenTerminator: Genisyswas made, and that dreadful redo (really a cross between a straight remake and a reboot) performed poorly at the box office and was savaged by critics. Ellison’s Skydance Productions producedGenisysand had long, overarching plans for the franchise, so it’s heartening to hear that Ellison is still interested in gettingTerminatorright, and obviously bringing Cameron into the fold is a big win.
The rights don’t revert to Cameron until next year, so nothing official can happen until then and Cameron is plenty busyfinallygetting ready to start production onthe first twoAvatarsequels, but it’s certainly intriguing to hear that he seems invested in trying to bringTerminatorback in a big way. Stay tuned…
