TERMINATOR: SALVATION was supposed to be the film that relaunched the TERMINATOR franchise. Warner Bros. spent a good chunk of money to get a big name star in Christian Bale and an up-and-coming actor in Sam Worthington to bring audiences a new trilogy in the saga. The only thing they didn’t see coming was that the movie mostly sucked and audiences didn’t really care.
The rights to the TERMINATOR franchise were auctioned off last year and acquired by a group called Pacificor for almost $30 million. Sony Pictures had been interested in continuing the sequels but walked away after the property went bankrupt. Now Universal is circling the world of the Terminator who is looking to develop a big tentpole directing project for Justin Lin, who just wrapped FAST FIVE for the studio. The idea would be to pair Lin with writer Chris Morgan (WANTED, the upcoming 47 RONIN) for a new sequel.
But would Arnold return? Right now there’s nothing but speculation as the project isn’t enough of a reality to warrant an offer from Universal (at this point they’re only circling acquiring the rights to make a TERMINATOR film) but it’s very likely that if they do decide to make a TERMINATOR movie they’d at least explore the interest of the former governor.
All this said, do we need a new TERMINATOR movie? The last two movies were D.O.A. and it’s very possible the ship has sailed on this franchise. What do you think? Would you be interested in another sequel or reboot?