There are plans for a new Terminator movie that will be released on July 26 of 2019. Unsurprisingly, said movie will be starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in one of his most iconic roles as one of the titular machines called the T-800. However, it is interesting to note that Schwarzenegger has stated that the new Terminator movie will be returning to the basics in a number of other ways, with examples ranging from Linda Thompson reprising her role as Sarah Connor to the new movie being a continuation to Terminator and Terminator 2 but not the three other Terminator movies that have been made in the time since. Something that might come as welcome news to those who remember either Terminator 3, Terminator Salvation, or Terminator Genisys with something less than fondness.
Why Is Terminator 6 Going Back to the Basics?
There are a number of reasons that could explain why the new Terminator movie is returning to the basics in this manner. For example, it is interesting to note that the rights to the Terminator franchise will be reverting to James Cameron in 2019, which is important because this means that the new Terminator movie will have the franchise creator’s involvement in a way that cannot be said for either one of the last three Terminator movies. Granted, Cameron will not be directing the new Terminator movie, but the news that has come out about the production makes it clear that he is involved with the production in various roles that range from outlining the plot to guiding the development of the movie from start to finish. In particular, it is important to note that the director of the new Terminator movie is Tim Miller, who has received Cameron’s approval.
Following up on this, Cameron and his partner at Skydance Productions have made much mention about focusing on making a good sequel to Terminator and Terminator 2 that is worth watching as opposed to something that can be used to set up future Terminator movies. This seems like a clear reference to the last two Terminator movies, both of which were intended to launch new trilogies but failed to do so because neither one managed to meet with much of a positive response from the movie-goers. In other words, the people behind the new Terminator movie have a strong interest in avoiding comparisons to the last two Terminator movies as well as how they were marketed to interested individuals, which could explain why there is more talk of making a good movie than envisioning the end product’s sequel potential.
Finally, the new Terminator movie could be ignoring the last three Terminator movies for the sake of convenience. Simply put, three Terminator movies represent a lot of continuity, which in turn, represent a big hurdle for people who might be interested in the franchise but are hesitant to watch that much material. Likewise, three Terminator movies mean a fair amount of material that the film-makers would have to pay attention to, which makes their jobs that much more complicated and time-consuming. As a result, while this is probably not the sole reason, it seems probable that the people behind the new Terminator movie are also ignoring the last three Terminator movies because they represent cruft that is best cleared out, which is something that can be seen in the production of other long-running film franchises.
