The Terminator is one of James Cameron‘s many masterpieces, and the prolific filmmaker has said he has plans for more films within the franchise.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was catapulted to dizzying heights of fame when he donned a leather jacket and some cool sunglasses to go after Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor in the first film. It had such a big impact it became one of the most beloved movies of all time, spawning an equally beloved sequel in 1991’s Judgement Day, as well as other less celebrated follow-ups between 2003 and 2019.
Read more: The Terminator’s very unusual origin story in James Cameron’s dreams
Speaking with Empire Magazine ahead of the ’80s action flick’s 40th anniversary, Cameron revealed: “It’s more than a plan. That’s what we’re doing. That’s all I’ll say for right now.” But do we really need to see more of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s robot from the future when the franchise has produced more than its fair share of duds over the years?
The Terminator franchise is a lesson in diminishing returns, with the narrative falling short in its more recent sequels such as 2015’s Terminator: Genisys or Terminator: Salvation in 2009. Terminator: Dark Fate, which came out in 2019, was received slightly better than its predecessors but was still a far cry away from the original.
In terms of how the films did commercially, Terminator: Dark Fate was considered to have bombed at the box office. The film was meant to act as a reboot for a new trilogy which was ultimately cancelled because of the underwhelming response.
Cameron, it seems, understands what it’ll take for the franchise to succeed in the future: “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 you throw 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 a**. But this is the moment where you jettison all the specific iconography.”
The question is do we really need more? History suggests not. The first two films in the franchise are brilliant, but the others weren’t nearly as good so the franchise is at risk of undermining what Cameron originally created if it keeps going.
Also, why would audiences want to pay good money for a new Terminator movie when they know the most recent films were less than satisfactory to watch? The less faith they have in a franchise the less they’re likely to want to support it.
The thing is, Hollywood loves a reboot, refresh, revamp, if there’s existing IP to be mined they will do it so much like Alien, Blade Runner, and other classic ’80s hits there seems to be no end in sight for the franchises. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but maybe film fans deserve something new and fresh instead.
One consolation is that Cameron appears more directly involved in these future ideas for a Terminator sequel, which appears to be where the others went wrong. Perhaps once the director finishes making his Avatar films he will deliver a story that is just as prolific as his first movie — only time will tell.