The Tim Miller-James Cameron Terminator teamup has made rounds in the rumor mill for quite some time. Last we’d heard, Cameron was dispirited by the critical and box office abominations his treasured sci-fi franchise has devolved into and planned on getting back into the mix sooner rather than later. Not to mention, the veteran director hastened to maintain the Avatar saga is still on track. According to the latest reports, all the films that took place after Terminator 2: Judgment Day will be wiped from continuity, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton will return and the yet to be titled follow-up has a definitive release slated for July 26, 2019.
Cameron sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss this concept further and revealed the story will see Lynda Carter’s Sarah Connor pass the torch to a younger female lead.
“A lot of this is handing off the baton to a newer generation of characters. We’re starting a search for a 18-something young woman to essentially be the centerpiece of these stories.”
Cameron goes on to describe Schwarzenegger and Hamilton as the anchors to a trilogy that will be a direct continuation of Judgment Day, one that is decidedly reconfigured for the 21st century. Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines, Terminator: Salvation and Terminator: Genisys are all going to be chocked up to either “bad dreams” or alternate timelines in the multiverse. Cameron is, by his own admission, indifferent to all that stuff, but says partner Tim Miller suggested they address the dip in quality of the more recent films in some way.
Miller also expressed an interest in grounding things a bit, particularly when it comes to the age of the actors. Because Arnold Schwarzenegger has starred in these movies for so long, the director wants the new trilogy to address his age in the film – hopefully better than the perfunctory attempt made in Terminator: Genisys. He told THR, “Emotionally and intellectually he will have evolved. They’re learning machines. But that’s a way to make it different than what it was…I think we should embrace his age. And that’s what’s going to make it interesting and fresh for the fans. “
The Terminator series is sort of continuity sensitive by its very nature. The plot toys with the conventions of time in a way the makes sequels inherently tricky. I’m thrilled to learn Miller and Cameron are giving themselves a clean slate with this upcoming trilogy. I just hope this doesn’t mean I’ll have to wait even longer for Avatar 2 to flop... I mean...astonish.
Are you excited about the new Terminator trilogy? Let us know.
