James Cameron says Terminator fans will love Terminator: Genisys

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

There was a time when a James Cameron-less TERMINATOR film seemed preposterous, but here we are, on the brink of a third TERMINATOR movie without the original writer/director behind it. TERMINATOR: GENISYS has already polarized fans of the franchise with its casting and changing of the original story (a la J.J. Abrams‘ STAR TREK). This new film aims to reboot the franchise, being the first in a new trilogy, and you may be surprised to hear that James Cameron feels it’s done exactly that. Taking time out to speak to IGN, the seminal director detailed what he liked about GENISYS and why it works.

James Cameron on TERMINATOR: GENISYS:

I didn’t direct it. I didn’t write it. I’m just a fanboy. I’m in a dark theater, the movie starts, and I start to see things I recognize. It’s being very respectful of the first two films and then all of a sudden, it just swerves and now I’m going on a journey. I feel like the franchise has been reinvigorated. Like, this is a renaissance.

Regarding the characters of GENISYS:

If you look at why the films became classics, they had characters that you like. The new film, which in my mind I think of as the third film, we see Arnold take the character even farther. Everyone responds to Sarah Connor. For women, I think she represents a kind of empowerment and yet there’s a vulnerability there because that strength comes at a price. We went from in the first film the Terminator being the worst badass in history to in the second film him being almost a father figure. The idea of taking John Connor and flipping him to the bad guy, it’s pretty cool because you got a rift against expectation. It’s all about the twists.

If fans of the first two films will like GENISYS:

If you like the TERMINATOR films, you’re gonna love this movie.

When I first read the plot for TERMINATOR: GENISYS (GENESIS, at that time), I was actually pretty keen on the idea. After all, when you deal with time travel, whatever events have transpired generally go out the window. However, it was upon the first few trailers and clips that dropped that made the movie feel “off” for me. James Cameron is known for speaking his mind and I believe he’s genuine when he says that he likes TERMINATOR: GENISYS, but I have hard time believing I’ll feel the same way. I would LOVE to be proven wrong. Here’s hoping the finished product has a little more in store for us than we’re led to believe.

TERMINATOR: GENISYS will open in theaters on July 1, 2015.