Well, David Ellison (Skydance Productions) had something planned and this just might be worth forgiving Skydance Productions; for our least favorite (not favorite at all) Terminator movie Terminator Genisys.
It appears Terminator Rights owner David Ellison might be starting to listen to our demands for a R Rated Terminator 2 Sequel/Requel (ignoring T3: ROTM onwards in favor of a return to the canon story we gave a fuck about),- although this is not confirmed yet, the other option is a total reboot but Schwarzenegger should still be involved. However if Schwarzenegger is to return we will be pretty damn pissed if Linda Hamilton is not brought back also in a lead role and also if Gale Anne Hurd is not brought on as a fully involved producer (you have been warned Mr Ellison).
He’ll be back! James Cameron, who regains certain rights to his prized creation The Terminator in 2019, is godfathering a new iteration of the film that might finally get it right in drawing a close in the battle between humans and Skynet. Sources said that Cameron, whose copyright reversion happens 35 years after the release of the 1984 classic, is in early talks with Deadpool director and VFX wiz Tim Miller to direct a reboot and conclusion of one of cinema’s great science fiction tales.
We have always wanted/insisted upon a canon Terminator trilogy to be proud of and, from the quote above, it looks like this could now be the target of David Ellison. Although the rights go back to Jim 35 years after 1984’s THE TERMINATOR which means Jim gets the Terminator franchise back in 2019.
David Ellison, whose Skydance co-financed Terminator Genisys, is bankrolling an exploratory effort that includes engaging some top-flight science fiction authors to find the movie creatively. Ellison still holds many Terminator rights, after his 2013 acquisition from sister and Annapurna principal Megan Ellison. She bought them in 2011 at Cannes for $20 million.
Next up is something we knew but were asked never to talk about,- the original Terminator 3 that Cameron originally wanted to make…
He mentioned to producers Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna his plans to buy the rights back from Carolco bankruptcy. They beat him to the punch, figuring he would still participate, but Cameron responded by walking away.
We think it is nice for that information to reach the fans finally; as people keep blaming a divorce between Linda Hamilton being the reason as to why Jim lost the Terminator rights, this was not true as Jim Cameron only married Linda Hamilton after Terminator 2. Whoever started that lie/propaganda is a fucking asshat.
Cameron has had zero involvement since then, and has largely been silent. The exception was on the last picture, Terminator Genisys. Perhaps because his old buddy and True Lies star Schwarzenegger had returned as the title character, Cameron was generous in his assessment, reportedly saying that the Alan Taylor-directed film had reinvigorated and created a renaissance for the franchise.
While fans think that money exchanged hands for Jim’s endorsement we put it down to two things… Paramount and Titanic and RESIDUALS… even if Jim Cameron is not involved in a Terminator movie he will get money from his writing credit for characters and story… so whatever Genisys made Jim will have gotten a cut. So, while Paramount and Skydance Productions were likely not down a back alley giving Jim a briefcase of money in the dead of night… Jim kinda got paid something.
Audiences disagreed and the franchise seemed out of gas when the $155 million film grossed $440 million worldwide, but didn’t do nearly well enough in the U.S. Perhaps Cameron was foreshadowing his own future return to the franchise. Much the way that Sony used to rush Spider-Man movies to stay ahead of a rights-reversion ticking clock, it was always known that Cameron would regain clout eventually. It didn’t seem that Skydance or Paramount had much interest continuing the creative track of the last film, but real creative involvement by Cameron, even if he doesn’t direct, changes the whole ballgame. One only has to look at Aliens, True Lies, Titanic or Avatar to see what he is capable of creatively when he puts his mind to something.
Hearing that the Genisys creative track is Terminated brings a huge sigh of relief to us and we are sure it will do the same for the majority of the Terminator fan base!
I don’t know anything more than I’ve disclosed here, including whether they reboot the whole thing or pick up from where Cameron left off after the second film. I’ve heard the hope is for Miller to direct whatever they come up with. Cameron is booked for four Avatar sequels, to shoot two at a time.
There we have it. So let’s break this down a little…
James Cameron sadly won’t be directing but he will be “godfathering the project” which likely means a producer or most likely an Executive Producer credit… obviously the concern comes in the form of; is this just a fancy courtesy title job (a glorified version of the Genisys endorsement), or will he actually be hands on in offering substantial story ideas to the project?
Science Fiction Authors seem to be in mind for the project to bring the real direction of the story, we have had some pretty good novels from the Terminator franchise surprisingly with Terminator Salvation’s novels (they were much better than the movie) and could be a point of interest for Mr Ellison.
Regarding Director Tim Miller; this website was very supportive of Deadpool because the movie was Rated R. James Cameron also had input at 20th Century Fox that the film should be allowed to be Rated R when Executives kept rejecting such a Rating… Deadpool was a very different Genre to Terminator, the only thing familiar is some stylish action and car chase sequences.
While sketchy- it was also reported that Miller and Ryan Reynolds fell out over Deadpool 2; with sources citing that Miller wanted to reach a wider audience with the sequel, did he want to PG-13 the sequel? Miller then went on to his next project, reportedly a Sonic The Hedgehog movie for Sony. Obviously this could raise alarm bells with some hardcore Terminator Fans as to what direction the 6th movie will take.
If we could offer Tim Miller any advice it is that Terminator Fans can be rabid beings, most are tired of comedy and one liners; the majority of the fans now are older and more mature… we do not want a children’s movie in disguise,- we do not want smiling Terminators, we want monosyllabic cyborg assassins that kill and if that means killing humans… we want to reconnect with the story that mattered and that involves Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and her son and future leader of mankind (John Connor). Fans want a fusion of the horror and gritty darkness of the first movie fused with the action spectacle of the second… minus the cheese. We would also like to swap any possible sex scenes out for more blood, violence and storytelling; a trade in which we would be happy to see happen. We could go on forever but many of our readers would fall asleep and obviously have lives to attend to. One more thing, no more friendly protector Terminator Units this time; can we have The Real Sarah Connor and John Connor save the world instead? Make Schwarzenegger the ultimate obstacle and villain again (T-800)! Sarah Connor does NOT need saving!
We just dearly hope this is what we want it to be and not a facade of “world building” in disguise. We care very dearly for this franchise and we do want a true sequel to Terminator 2, it is just that we want it as hardcore as the first movie, as gritty and as horror fueled as possible. We keep saying it over and over again but we need to go back to the roots. Sadly the studios keep taking things fans say far too literally and without looking into the deeper meanings and details. Most fans don’t actually know what they want but for those of you that do… we hope we get what is wanted, needed and expected!
Let’s just hope that T6 is, at the very least, banned in China; staying true to the history of the franchise,- or this could be a sign of things to come…
The Terminator (1984) to this day remains banned in China and has never had a theatrical release there…
Good luck David Ellison and Tim Miller (you’re gonna need it) you have a Terminator curse to fight and one hell of a loyal fan base to appease!
Source: Deadline.com
Update: Find out who we would cast in the lead roles of a Terminator 2 sequel by clicking the image below!
26 Comments
Is this possible to start a poll to bring back Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn ?
Sure Fred, we will do that right now for you!
Great ! Looking forward to seeing the results.
Make your votes in the sidebar of this post!
Yes I would love to see Linda and Michael come back. This is such great news. I hope they do this T2 sequel and not another reboot.
Cameron knows everyone wants him to direct, so he needs to just go ahead and do it.
I thought T-G was great. not the best but definetly much better then I feel it gets credit for. The one major down side was that they moved forward in time. They should have stayed in 1984. or kept the 1997 date and went there. Plus I think the movie would have made a bit more if the trailers didn’t spoil most of the surprises in the story.
And just because it didn’t do great in america shouldn’t matter that much. since if it does more in other countries that should be good. It still did pretty well compared to the others. no I don’t have any numbers in my head but from what I heard it did good in total worldwide, and that’s whjat should matter. I know a lot didn’t like it as much but From all the comments I have read there were still plenty of people that liked it. Too me it was the best after T-2.
But all this is my opinion. but I think they should at least say it had a devided or Split reactions from fans. because not all hated it. A lot liked it still and want a sequel to T-G.
Just saying.
Reading you, Craitar, as you seem to like T-G, how about the idea to bring Judgment Day in this timeline and Kyle and Sarah lead the resistance with their children (girls for example) in 2045 but, Skynet wins the battle and annihilate ALL mankind (Pops is in fact a mole of Skynet). The only chance for humanity is to send back soldiers (Kyle’s and Sarah’s children) in 1973 to avoid the Terminator Genesis timeline to exist. We erase Terminator Genesis and go back in T1-T2 timeline. This could bring us a real war, R-rated, movie we have dreamed of for years. Linda Hamilton and Micheal Biehn could come back at the age of 50 (with good make up, it could work). I have thought about this idea for one year (for a T6, a T7 and a T8). It would be funny to erase Terminator Genisys in T6 as they wanted to erase The Terminator, no ?
Terminator Genisys is a shallow new-money version of a Terminator movie, it is bloated, conceited and wet. It undermined everything which made the franchise memorable and arrogantly went around announcing itself to bigger and better than the rest, when in truth it was a thinly veiled attack on the original fanbase and the elements which drew audiences in the first place. The writers, directors and producers were unable to grasp what the fans wanted, instead choosing to create a movie based on what their bosses and investors required- Cert PG13: Tick. Action: Tick. Big Budget: Tick. CGI: Tick. Trendy Actors: Tick. Tension: NA. Depth: NA. Story: NA. Heart: NA. Relevance: Do iPad promotions count? (OMG Totes) Tick. Welcome to new-money-new-Hollywood: If you don’t have a million+ insta followers then your opinion is invalid and everyone hates you.
I want NOTHING to do with any terminator sequel that ‘ignores’ Trrminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The first three terminator films are the best. Leave the original trilogy alone.
Just make a sequel that picks up where Genisys left off. Genisys has its faults, but overall it’s a fun film that rebooted without actually rebooting.
Terminator 3 did not even come close to the James Cameron movies. I love that Linda Hamilton stayed true to Jim and refused to be in that movie. You say Terminator Genisys is not a reboot? Are you blatantly disregarding the fact that it wiped out the rest of the movies just like a reboot?
Spot on assessment, Sandy! T3 was a sub-standard T2 rehash. T4S was convoluted and died under the weight of its own plot holes, despite strong cast performances; AY’s Reese was excellent, CB’s Connor was hard but lacked purpose (writer’s fault, not actor’s). And T5G…eradicates the first two films (and the other two sequels) 10 minutes into its own narrative, proving to me that “No Fate” isn’t meant to leverage artistic license and departure from the source material. It’s meant to teach us the flip side of the coin: Our choices, our actions have consequences.
And I hope it’s not too late to get it right.
It totally rebooted! Then it crashed. As it deserved to.
The final movie for a James Cameron Terminator trilogy needs to close the loop. We need 2 hours in the nightmarish 2029 we’ve been teased with in the first two film (James Cameron’s 2029), a story that ends with sending The Terminator, Kyle Reese, Uncle Bob, and T-1000 back. All nighttime. HKs. 600 series terminators (the way James Cameron envisioned them), 800 series terminators that are a different model number than the 101 (like we saw in T1). I want to be able to watch the trilogy straight through…knowing I’ve started at the beginning no matter which one I picked to watch first. #CloseTheLoop
T5G teased us with the final battle in 2029…it was over before the opening credits ended. That needs to be the finale of the film.
We need to see John Connor — the established general, not the T4S outcast — inspiring and commanding the resistance.
We need to see Sergeant Kyle Reese, TechCom, and his role in the defeat of SKYNET, technical weaknesses he and his team expose and exploit to crush Skynet’s defense grid.
We need to see civilian humanity on the brink and feel the emotional weight of Skynet’s relentless eradication of the human race.
We want visual continuity with James Cameron’s first two films. Including actors who resemble established characters (if original cast members do not return and are appropriately digitally age-regressed); Kyle Reese, T2 future John Connor, Sarah Connor, and The Terminator (800 series, model 101).
I want to see the reveal that “no fate” is a “noble lie” that John Connor chooses to instruct Kyle Reese to tell Sarah. He reasons that they’ve won in 2029 because he remembers growing up on Sarah saying “no fate”…so if he doesn’t tell her, it might go differently, but that also means it might go worse; it might mean humanity’s defeat. So he has to send The Message: “…the future is not set…”
The only reason the future war worked in the original movies was due to the fact that it was just a “tease”, if these sequences were to be expanded upon that would simply create yet more disappointment and detract from the fact that the original story-line was supposed to be about real people fighting against almost unbeatable odds- without any real knowledge of how to do so. The future carries all the knowledge and know-how, it’s a users manual of what happens next and holds very little surprise, allowing for a predictable fall-short of what audiences would expect from what was meant to be an awe inspiring and bleak GLIMPSE of the world post-apocalypse. Setting a whole movie in the future war would be a marked step back, we were never meant to see the whole picture- or Cameron would have done that himself already.
Disagree. Original drafts of T2 had a much larger future war sequence. Budget constraints forced cuts. The skeleton of a full two-hour film exists.
Seems very shortsighted story-wise which is possibly the real reason it was cut, not to mention being CGI laden in today’s cartoon Hollywood. I’m not a ten year old boy with a plastic gun, so I would need far more than an overpriced elaboration of the original sparingly used theme. The future war was a cautionary red flag, the impetus to fight Skynet and worked as backstory but to set the WHOLE movie there would be the suicide of realism in a franchise drawing its last breath.
Well said cooper. A future war movie will just play like one of the endless terminator ripoffs and be quite boring to be honest. What made terminator 1 & 2 great was they were set in the present mostly and you then bring in an indestructible killing machine from the future that seems impossible to kill. Also the undertone of nuclear war plays better than the aftermath of a war. It’s done then do there’s no hope!
The first movie was the best. 84 was a different time. Gritty movies were in. Definitely had its own tone for its time and was right on time for where our culture was then
People loved the horror/slasher tone of the first Terminator movie. The world and our culture is still fucked, look at the news and the riots. The only reason the Terminator franchise has shifted tonally is for corporate greed… not for world peace and harmony.
I 100% agree with both of you. I don’t know how to tell James Cameron that fans want to go back to the tone of the first movie. Through a petition ????
Most of the hardcore fans have expressed a wish for return to the tone of the first movie, probably the continual rise in demand for Rated R shows it even more. The first Terminator movie was deadly serious, the fans would generally love a movie that is believable, gritty and serious! Jim created the franchise, he is probably well aware of what the fans would love and the good news is he IS involved.
Thanks for the info! We were aware Chinese audiences were familiar with the first film through the bootleg market. All we know is we are not allowed to talk about The Terminator in reference to Terminator 2 3D, we are also not allowed to give The Terminator prizes to Chinese citizens. If you would like to share information on the partial censorship of the DVD contact us via our contact page and we will credit you for information!
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we would like the return of schwarzenneger and Linda Hamilton !!!
It will be geat if we see the future in the period 2026-2029. From the first T-800 on the battlefield to the sending of the t-800 and t-1000 back in time….