While out and about promoting Avatar: Fire and Ash, director James Cameron has openly stated that he’ll get back to completing his script for the next Terminator movie, which will not feature the franchise’s star, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“I can safely say he won’t be [in it],” Cameron told THR (via World of Reel), adding, “It’s time for a new generation of characters. I insisted Arnold had to be involved in [2019’s] Terminator: Dark Fate, and it was a great finish to him playing the T-800. There needs to be a broader interpretation of Terminator and the idea of a time war and super intelligence. I want to do new stuff that people aren’t imagining.”
He continued: “once the dust clears on Avatar in a couple of months, I’m going to really plunge into that [The Terminator]”. He added that the biggest “narrative problem” he needs to solve is, “How do I stay enough ahead of what’s really happening to make it science fiction?”
World of Reel adds that back in 2022, Cameron mentioned that he was in “discussions” to direct the next Terminator movie, and that it would be “more about the AI side of it.” A year later, Cameron confirmed that he was in the middle of writing the movie and that he wanted to see how AI developed before going any further with it.
Of course, none of this is official. But if Skydance Media does move ahead with a Terminator 7 (as we’re calling it), it would mark Cameron’s first time directing a franchise entry since 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day. And let’s be honest – odds are pretty good it’ll be shot in 3D. 😉
We’ll keep you updated as more news arrives about Skydance’s Terminator 7. Until then…
Here’s a quick history of the choppy Terminator franchise, highlighting when Cameron was – or wasn’t – involved:
The Terminator (1984) – A cyborg assassin from the future (Arnold Schwarzenegger) attempts to find and kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) who is destined to give birth to a warrior that will lead a resistance to save humankind from extinction. But it’s up to Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a soldier from the future, who is sent back in time to protect Sarah Connor.
This is the film that started it all – an instant sci-fi cult classic! The film’s success put director James Cameron (Piranha II: The Spawning) firmly on Hollywood’s radar; he also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Gale Anne Hurd and William Wisher (Judge Dredd).
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – A cyborg (Schwarzenegger) from the future, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor (Hamilton), must now protect her ten-year-old son John (Edward Furlong) from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg (Robert Patrick).
Like The Godfather 2, Superman 2, The Road Warrior and Empire Strikes Back, this is one of the very rare cases where the sequel was as good (possibly better!) as the original. Terminator 2 redefined action cinema by blending groundbreaking CGI with emotional storytelling, setting a new benchmark for blockbuster filmmaking – essentially putting Cameron in the Spielberg bracket. One again, written by Cameron, with input from William Wisher (The 13th Warrior).
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) – John Connor (Nick Stahl) must face a female Terminator (Kristanna Loken) with power over all the machines. But a new Terminator unit, a T-850 (Schwarzenegger), is sent back through time to help guide him through the coming battle.
This is the first in the series where Cameron had zero input. Instead, it was directed by Jonathan Mostow (Breakdown) and written by Michael Ferris (Surrogates) and Tedi Sarafian (Tank Girl).
Terminator Salvation (2009) – As the machines prepare for a final attack, John Connor (Christian Bale) and a mysterious stranger (Sam Worthington) delve into the heart of Skynet and uncover a terrible secret involving the annihilation of mankind.
Like Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation was made without Cameron’s involvement. This time around, McG (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle) is in the director’s chair with help from writers John Brancato (The Net) and Michael Ferris (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines).
Terminator Genisys (2015) – When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Schwarzenegger is back at the T-800 with South Korean star Lee Byung-hun (I Saw the Devil) taking over T-1000 role made famous by Robert Patrick.
Once again, Cameron had nothing to do with this production. At helm was Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World) with writers Laeta Kalogridis (Alita: Battle Angel) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry).
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) – An augmented human (Mackenzie Davis) and Sarah Connor (Hamilton) must stop an advanced liquid Terminator (Gabriel Luna) from hunting down a young girl, whose fate is critical to the human race. Schwarzenegger returns as the T-800 model. The film is a direct sequel to Terminator 2, ignoring Terminator 3, Salvation, and Genisys.
Terminator: Dark Fate marked the first time Cameron was attached to the franchise, but only as a credited producer. He helped shape the story, but directing duties were given to Tim Miller (Deadpool) and writers David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight), Justin Rhodes (Contract Killer) and Billy Ray (The Hunger Games).
Here’s a lineup of the franchise’s trailers for you to enjoy:
Sigh. Talk about an overcooked franchise. Admittedly, Part 3 wasn’t really bad, but I hated how it completely changed the ending to T2. That movie ended so perfectly with the notion that we can change what’s “preordained,” but then T3 comes along and says “Nope, the world gonna get fucked up no matter what.” Maybe what’s happening in the world now is a different version of what the films predicted.
The R rated version of Salvation was decent. I liked how we were getting something different. But then 5 was just completely unnecessary, and 6 was a slap in the face. I hope 7 ignores everything after T2 and we get something unique.
What? You didn’t enjoy the T-800 as a old man carpet fitter with a wife but its purely platonic? This is peak sci-fi cinema?
A modern day version of judgment day would be a bunch of angry keyboard warriors knocking one out to Sydney sweeney and listening to rogan josh podcasts about woke medicine like aspirin and ibuprofen. the twist is judgement day already happened and no one noticed. Da da da da dum , da da da da dum…cue terminator theme song
Part 3 is solid, especially considering the impossible task of following Cameron’s impeccably crafted T2. The downbeat ending is a real highlight. That said, the female Terminator has aged pretty badly, thanks to that early-2000s fashion choices.
As for the last two entries? They blur together for me. In fact, I nearly forgot Dark Fate even existed. Both are forgettable.
Most everything else about T3 was good. The action was very well done and the big fight scene with Arnold vs Kristana Loken was a great brawl that correctly combined practical effects with CGI.
I get that there was a point to the new ending, and how we need to be able to adapt to the worst case scenario, but it was disrespectful to what T2 built.
They can always go back in time and fix that, as they’ve been doing. lol That’s what great about the franchise. it’s time machine-based. So you just keep on doing them til you get it right. It’s becoming fashionable where sequels don’t have to keep the same time line/logic. It’s become “open source” filmmaking.
None are worth anything after T2. 3,4 and 6 are completely disposable and mediocre. 5 is Don The Dragon Wilson level nonsense.
Also, Arnold is almost 80, It’s time to cut it loose.
Agreed on T3, and I’d go so far as to argue it’s a movie which has actually improved as its aged, namely through the fact that most of its key action scenes are done practically, with CGI only being used to compliment sparingly.
The bathroom fight (that made it into our Top Bathroom Fights feature!), the insane vehicular chase scene, and the image of Arnie rattling off bullets while single handedly carrying a coffin on one shoulder are all memorable set pieces (with the latter feeling like it should be far more iconic than it is)! My biggest problem with T3 is that I couldn’t tell you anyone else who was in it outside of Arnie and Kristanna Loken!
T3 works more as a stand alone film than being part of the series. I like to pretend that the franchise ended with T2, and it makes me less bitter about how it went.
I was more interested in seeing the future war than another terminator being sent to the past, and Salvation didn’t show enough of that. It would be great to see a Terminator film where the war against Skynet is given the same scale and intensity of Saving Private Ryan.
The issue with T3 is its tone. Most of the time it doesn’t take itself seriously like the inflating boobies and Arnie wearing the elton john sunglasses. So when you see something that in another movie would be iconic , in this movie it just comes over as parody.
However, the ending is good but it feels like its been edited in from a much better movie.
But if i’ms being honest, the franchise was a one and done. Nothing comes close to the first movie. None of the sequels, TV shows, anime spinoff/remakes captured the magic that the first movie had.
Even T2 while a decent action blockbuster had major issues with John Conner. Edward Furlong was not very good in this.
1? And if it was the best one?
2? You could be miiiine!
The others: What are you talkin’ about? Terminator is like Mad Max: “only” two great mivies.
At 78 years old, I hope Arnold has a swan song in mind before he retires. If that movie, Breakout is still happening (Which Chow Yun-Fat was supposed to star in at one point) I hope that could be cool.
What are your Top Ten Schwarzenegger films? I came up with my list:
10- Raw Deal. A by-the-numbers pic that does its job, and of course Arnold killing the bad guys to the tune of The Rolling Stone’s Satisfaction was a good time.
9- Eraser. After his lousy attempts at comedy, it was nice to see him back in a Guns Blazing film that was full of cool action and where Arnold also attempted to be a voice of reason for others.
8- The Last Stand. After not starring in any action films for a long time, it was good to see Arnold in what felt like a tribute to Raw Deal. Of course this was a far cry from Kim Jee Woon’s best, but it succeeded as escapism, and Arnold still had it with his shootouts and a pretty good fight scene at the end with Eduardo Noriega.
7- End of Days. Despite the concept of Arnold fighting Satan, I liked how it was treated seriously with Arnold playing a tragic protagonist while having the great Gabriel Byrne be his perfect foil. The good action we expect is here, but Arnold being vulnerable made those scenes more exciting.
6- Red Heat. I wish this was talked about more often. Arnold is a far cry from the type of roles Last Action Hero attempted to parody as a serious and disciplined cop, and Jim Belushi’s “sleazebag with a heart of gold” has good chemistry with him that would prepare Arnold for his future pairings with Danny DeVito and Tom Arnold. Walter Hill’s brand of action really suited them.
5- Conan the Barbarian. Not too much to ad here. The blueprint for Hollywood sword and sorcery films that doesn’t always get followed.
4- Total Recall. It’s rare to get a movie with a well done story that’s not cut and dry, and the equal amount of shootouts and fight scenes was very generous. It’s another great reminder of how much we need practical effects. (And I say that as someone who liked the newer movie)
3- The Terminator. Another one I can’t ad much more input to. Film noir, sci-fi, horror, and a gritty love story made for great viewing.
2- Terminator 2. Of course it’s one of the best movies ever made. It’s unreal that a movie that’s almost 30 years old can still look brand new with its perfect cinematography and special effects while delivering a great story and intense action.
1- True Lies. It’s my favorite Arnold film for its near perfect blend of action and comedy. I wish he and Cameron made a series out of this instead of playing around with Terminator. Very little about True Lies isn’t done right, and I watch it just as much as T2.
I didn’t include Predator because even though I like that movie just fine, I was disappointed in how Arnold and the Predator never had a true epic feud and battle. I wanted to see more of how he’d keep the Predator on his toes, and I wish the final fight was more competitive and longer.
I don’t think anyone would disagree with your top 5 but choices 6-10 are interesting to say the least.
leaving predator off …..is a choice.
Commando? The Running Man?
they may not be S rank but choosing Eraser and End of Days over them is certainly unexpected
I don’t have much to add except.Twins and Kindergarten Cop should definitely be in any top 10 Arnie list as well. hos comedic timing is undervalued and underrated
as for swansong Maggie is as good a movie as any to say it was your last good movie. not the most original of premises but Arnie as a dad who has a daughter who’s infected works so much better than it should on paper
I would say that swan song hasn’t happened considering that he’s made more movies since then. A proper one would be where Arnold announces his last movie, it ends up being good, and that’s that.
Commando is a fun movie, but I had to choose between that and Raw Deal. The Running Man I thought was too ridiculous. I know that’s why some people love it, but I preferred Edgar Wright’s adaptation.
I like Twins and Kindergarten Cop, and they do belong on any good list. I just wanted to give mentions to the films that don’t get talked about as much.
Like I said, Predator is good. I just don’t feel as drawn to it as some of the others. I preferred Predator 2 because Danny Glover’s blue-collared hero was more of an underdog and he got more offense against the Predator.
It was a let down to watch Arnold get his ass kicked with next to no offense, and only winning because the Predator was too stupid to notice the trap he was being led to.
Nice list and solid tidbits.
My top picks (couldn’t stretch it to ten):
Conan – Pure childhood imprint, but it still holds up. Brutal, beautifully told, perfectly paced, and that soundtrack adds a whole extra layer of POWER. A movie with serious balls.
The Terminator – A perfect film.
Eraser – Like STEPHEN KUO says, it’s the last “real” Schwarzenegger movie. STEPHEN KUO has said some controversial remarks, but he’s right about this one. LOVE the airplane sequence. It outdoes the opening of Moonraker in every way.
Predator – John McTiernan was the Spielberg of action cinema. Nothing else needs to be said.
Terminator 2 – A rock-solid sequel to a perfect film.
Commando – Dumb fun, but as a kid this was my go-to action fix.
Pumping Iron – Brilliant. Arnold has supreme mind control.
TRUE LIES didn’t make the list. Good film, but it was around this time I started getting into Don “The Dragon” Wilson movies.
Good choices. Why not ten? The ones you don’t watch as much could still be the last 3. (It’d be a good excuse to put True Lies there)
Schwarzenegger may not be back for this new Terminator, but he sure did leave us with good stuff to remember him by.
Alright… last three…
True Lies
Total Recall/Terminator 3 (tie!)
Running Man