We’ve known for some months that James Cameron is working on a not-so-secret Terminator project. In fact, just four months ago he said that he was having trouble plotting out the script (and writing science fiction in general) because we are living in a science fiction age right now and “I don’t know what to say that won’t be overtaken by real events.” On December 19th, Cameron’s third Avatar movie, Avatar: Fire and Ash, will be making its way out into the world – and while we wait to see if he’ll move ahead with the previously announced Avatar 4 and 5 (which even have 2029 and 2031 release dates set for them), Cameron has revealed that he’s about to dive into his new Terminator script.
We’re living in a science fiction world
Speaking with io9, Cameron said, “I’ll have some time to write and to consider my next projects and the order in which I do them and so on once we’re done with the marketing on this in a month or so. I’ve got a stack of notes this thick [holds fingers about three inches apart], which is how I start all my scripts, on what I want to do with a new Terminator film. I’m going to pour myself into that as a writer. It’s difficult. I have to tell you. Science fiction has caught up and is actually overwhelming us at this point. We’re living in a science fiction world, and we’re literally having to deal with problems that in the past only existed in science fiction books and movies. Now we’re living it for real. I’ll never be as prescient as I was back in 1984 of imagining this one because I don’t think anybody knows what’s going to be happening a year or two years from now. But I at least want to future-proof myself by being a couple years out.“
Attempts at Terminator trilogies have failed
Thanks to copyright laws, Cameron got the rights to the Terminator franchise several years ago. He quickly put together a writers room that consisted of himself, Charles H. Eglee, Josh Friedman, David S. Goyer, Justin Rhodes, and Billy Ray to break down the story for the entire trilogy. That trilogy was meant to launch with Terminator: Dark Fate… but that movie was poorly received and bombed at the box office, so the trilogy plan came crumbling down. That was the third time trilogy plans got scrapped in this franchise, because Terminator: Salvation and Terminator: Genisys were also intended to be trilogy launchers.
But, the Terminator franchise is far from over, and Cameron is about to pour himself into the script of the next chapter. Are you looking forward to finding out more about the story he’s telling this time? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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