James Cameron recently sat down for a conversation with director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049 and Dune) for Variety‘s ‘Directors On Directors‘, with the two creatives speaking about the worlds they are currently inhabiting and building, (with Avatar and Dune respectively), as well as their approaches to film-making. The discussion covers the directors passion for the cinema experience, traversing recent difficult times due to the pandemic and also the changes within the industry; examining the growth of the streaming market and looking at its future potential.
As Terminator Fans this begs the question: could this indicate a potential future for the Terminator franchise? How could this discussion transfer to, say, Terminator 7?
James Cameron stated:
“I’m not afraid. I like change. I’m a child of the ’60s. I like it when things are chaotic. I think what we can see is an expanded form of cinema. I want to do a movie that’s six hours long and two and a half hours long at the same time. Same movie. You can stream it for six hours, or you can go and have a more condensed, roller coaster, immersive version of that experience in a movie theater. Same movie. Just, one’s the novel, and one’s the movie. Why not? Let’s just use these platforms in ways that haven’t been done before.”
James Cameron Directors On Directors
James Cameron isn’t a stranger to long form cinema, Titanic being a fine example of Cameron not being afraid to tackle a larger scale movie / story, though most importantly, the challenge of keeping the viewers attention for 3+ hours. He successfully managed this in a theater setting where bathroom breaks are always an unavoidable risk to the experience. James Cameron succeeded, accomplishing one of the most successful movies of all time.
A three hour Terminator movie would be great for Terminator Fans who have never stopped waiting for the director’s true return to the franchise – behind the camera and present on set, but if Jim is indeed interested in a movie / experience which is twice that duration then a six hour streaming Director’s Cut edition on a platform like Netflix could take hype through the roof – providing the theatrical outing is to the standard James Cameron presented to audiences in 1984 with The Terminator and 1991 with T2: Judgment Day.
So as we, the audience members, become more attuned to binge-watching full seasons of content on Netflix, and with a Terminator Anime Series not far off; could a six hour Terminator movie which is written and directed by James Cameron, be the way to fix the Terminator franchise malaise (or at least neutralise some of the problems), with the ability to pause and stop viewing, then we won’t miss anything if we need a snack, or a quick visit to the restroom.
First things first though, Avatar right now is James Cameron’s priority but maybe he could have a break after the third movie to revisit Terminator… ? Especially since he has already afforded himself a break in between making his Avatar movies with a 6 year break that is apparently going to allow the younger characters of the movie to age.
Most fans have made it abundantly clear that they would like some kind of ending to what James Cameron started with his first two movies, but of course James Cameron could decide to tell a different story altogether in the Terminator universe.
Providing the project would be on James Cameron’s terms; would you like to see a 6 hour Terminator movie?
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25 Comments
I’m game!
If it’s done well, and the story line is well thought through, the acting is good, and not these typical Sunday afternoon cheesy film’s and bad acting, then I’ll be very tempted to ystream a 6 hr film, as I’ve done that before with the Stephen King classic, The Stand, that was 6 and some hrs, and very good, only pitty about the film, it’s nothing like the book.
YES!!!
If we got a six hour film, I would want it to be a series finale that concludes the war between humanity and Skynet for good. Hell, if you’re going to do a six hour movie, take inspiration from ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and bring back everyone who’s ever played John Connor, Sarah, Kyle, or a Terminator in all the films and TV shows (Hell, Marcus, Grace, Barnes, and all the other side characters can come along, too), and have them all join forces for a final assault on Skynet. That’s pretty much the only way you’re going to win back fans after ‘Dark Fate’. Give us a story where all the characters get a satisfying ending, fans get closure, and no one has to worry about another reboot that’s the start of a new trilogy that’s never going to happen.
Hell yes! Can‘t wait for it! You got us excited with Legion, now give us the full Legion experience! Don‘t believe in people who say there needs to be an ending to the Terminator franchise. It’s like people saying there needs to be an ending to the Batman franchise. It just doesn’t make sense. But more Terminator content definitely does.
Yes, I would.
“Most fans have made it abundantly clear that they would like some kind of ending to what James Cameron started with his first two movies”
It did have and ending with the second movie. Why are we pretending it was left open for sequels? It was not, that’s why every movie since T2 sucked ass.
We know that James Cameron felt he told his story with the first two movies. We have kept reiterating that on the website over the years but that doesn’t stop fans wanting more and wanting that third James Cameron Terminator movie / trilogy they never got.
After his direct involvement with Dark Fate, not really. I have little faith in quality entertainment these days.
I would watch definitely
Its james fucking cameron. If james fucking cameron wants to do a 6 hour terminator movie, you let james fucking cameron do a 6 hour terminator movie!
هذا الفيلم من اروع افلام الخيال العلمي و عمل اسطوري فوق الروعه و انا احيي كل الفريق العامل في هذا الفيلم واتمنى للجميع المزيد من التقدم .
Yes! Please do give us a 6 hour Terminator movie. That sound like a great beer and pizza night.
que lui à la réalisation et à l’écriture du scénario et peut-être pas 6h ce serai beaucoup trop long mais un 2h30-3h je dis oui. et ramener les acteurs du 2 avec robert patrick edward furlong en tant que guerre du future et nouveau skynet qui controle car avec la technologie l’IA dans notre société actuel on pourrait vraiment avoir une histoire interessante dans un univers qui collerai a notre époque de plus en plus connecté avec QR code danger numérique robots tueur tout ça bien écrit en un véritable cauchemar comme le tout commencement de T1. Parler nous plus de skynet et une histoire basé sur les acteurs de T1et 2 viellissant à la technoligie cgi d’aujourd’hui comme avec la scène de dark fate mais ramener nous la famille connor et le T800 tueur thriller stressant avec BRAD FIEDEL à la musique !
HELL YES!!!
I would ABSOLUTELY LOVE his return to make the Terminator life what it should be/have been. No one knows the life of it more than the creator. And no one could tell the story better than he! I would gladly go see a six hour movie in theaters so long as I knew he was making it.
I’d totally be down for a six hour streaming version. If this becomes a reality…I can’t wait ✊🏿😍🤩
yes I could easily see Terminator in several hours
Great movies are enjoyed not so much because of their length of time, but because of their ability to make time disappear and suspend the awed-ience in wonder! Beethoven and Mozart and Fela were told they couldn’t succeed with abnormally long tunes. But great art is great art! Immeasurable!
Hell yes!!! I only hope that original cast is in it!!!
Arnold schwarzenegger needs to be a villainous terminator this time around! No more protector we’ve had enough of it! And needs to be in it the whole time! Maybe as one of few t800s or few different models?? With arnold s age he can be one of the most evil cold terminators out there being in civilization so long they’ve never got him?? Or realised he’s machine? Or he’s been through so many wars he’s like the ultimate old dangerous terminator. Being able to smile lie and act human convincingly but when their backs are turned he’s cold as hell! Frowning plotting etc….
Let it fucking die already.
The story was already concluded with T2, with each successive sequel more aimless, more uninspired and more pointless with each iteration.
Not everything needs to be a franchise. It’s always better to end on a high note, than it is to drag it out through the mud.
I’m up for it.
No, because at this point in his career he’d try to make it out to be able climate change.
I’D LOVE TO. IF JIM CAMERON PRODUCES A WELL DONE MOVIE, FIX THE DISCONTINUITIES IN TERMINATOR 5 AND 6, SHOW NEW TERMINATORS MODELS AND MAKE SOMETHING FUTURE WAR STYLE LIKE THE MATRIX OR JUSTICE LEAGUE SNYDER CUT, OR BATTLE ANGEL ALITA OR GHOST IN THE SHELL AND WITH THE STAN WINSTON ILLUMINATION, OF COURSE I WOULD SEE IT.