When I kicked off my new series of Good Idea/Bad Idea with Terminator 6, I mentioned that the film was going to be a direct sequel to Terminator 2. I was also questioning how they were going to address the last 3 movies in the series. Well…I have my answer. They aren’t. Terminator 6 WILL be ignoring the events of 3,4 AND 5 entirely. I’m not entirely surprised, especially with James Cameron writing and producing the film. To be honest, I think that’s the only direction that they could have gone in. I really enjoyed the last three installments, but you could tell that the franchise had gone completely off the rails since the departure of James Cameron. Deadpool director Tim Miller and James Cameron are shooting for a summer of 2019 release, so that gives them almost two years to flesh out the story and the characters. As I said in my previous post about the film, Cameron’s bringing back Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. Arnold Schwarzenegger is obviously returning since he confirmed that the film was being made. Arnold Schwarzenegger is reprising his role of the Terminator, but they are going to be addressing his age in the film. The story at this point is completely under-wraps, which is a good thing.
Terminator 2‘s ending was the perfect closure for the first two movies, while being ambiguous enough to question whether or not they actually succeeded. That was the point of the ending, to have some kind of hope for the future, and it was as perfect an ending as you could have for a movie like that. So, I’m curious as to how they’re going to address that. They’re also looking for some younger actors, I presume, to carry the torch from here on out. It’s also been confirmed that the new Terminator film will be the first in a new trilogy. While I personally think it’s premature to announce something like that at this point, considering how movies like The Mummy turned out. With the level of talent that is behind the new film, I’m honestly hopeful that it will be very, very good. Will it be as good as the first two movies? Not likely. Terminator 1 and 2 set the bar so high for the series, that I don’t think there’s any possible way of topping them. I will be satisfied if the new movie comes close, even if it isn’t entirely successful. So…those are some new and interesting developments, and I’m going to be keeping my eye on the film until its release. I’m a huge fan of the series, even the last 3 movies, but I’m not entirely sure where I should set my expectations. On the one hand, I really want this to work. On the other hand, if it doesn’t work, it’s going to kill franchise completely. However, James Cameron hasn’t had a box-office flop since Piranha 2: The Spawning, so I don’t really see Terminator 6 suffering the same fate. At this stage, it’s probably best to be cautious, but optimistic. Not necessarily a big post, but a bit of an update.