Well, David Ellison (Skydance Productions) had something planned and this just might be worth forgiving Skydance Productions; for our least favorite (not favorite at all) Terminator movie Terminator Genisys.
It appears Terminator Rights owner David Ellison might be starting to listen to our demands for a R Rated Terminator 2 Sequel/Requel (ignoring T3: ROTM onwards in favor of a return to the canon story we gave a fuck about),- although this is not confirmed yet, the other option is a total reboot but Schwarzenegger should still be involved. However if Schwarzenegger is to return we will be pretty damn pissed if Linda Hamilton is not brought back also in a lead role and also if Gale Anne Hurd is not brought on as a fully involved producer (you have been warned Mr Ellison).
He’ll be back! James Cameron, who regains certain rights to his prized creation The Terminator in 2019, is godfathering a new iteration of the film that might finally get it right in drawing a close in the battle between humans and Skynet. Sources said that Cameron, whose copyright reversion happens 35 years after the release of the 1984 classic, is in early talks with Deadpool director and VFX wiz Tim Miller to direct a reboot and conclusion of one of cinema’s great science fiction tales.
We have always wanted/insisted upon a canon Terminator trilogy to be proud of and, from the quote above, it looks like this could now be the target of David Ellison. Although the rights go back to Jim 35 years after 1984’s THE TERMINATOR which means Jim gets the Terminator franchise back in 2019.
David Ellison, whose Skydance co-financed Terminator Genisys, is bankrolling an exploratory effort that includes engaging some top-flight science fiction authors to find the movie creatively. Ellison still holds many Terminator rights, after his 2013 acquisition from sister and Annapurna principal Megan Ellison. She bought them in 2011 at Cannes for $20 million.
Next up is something we knew but were asked never to talk about,- the original Terminator 3 that Cameron originally wanted to make…
He mentioned to producers Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna his plans to buy the rights back from Carolco bankruptcy. They beat him to the punch, figuring he would still participate, but Cameron responded by walking away.
We think it is nice for that information to reach the fans finally; as people keep blaming a divorce between Linda Hamilton being the reason as to why Jim lost the Terminator rights, this was not true as Jim Cameron only married Linda Hamilton after Terminator 2. Whoever started that lie/propaganda is a fucking asshat.
Cameron has had zero involvement since then, and has largely been silent. The exception was on the last picture, Terminator Genisys. Perhaps because his old buddy and True Lies star Schwarzenegger had returned as the title character, Cameron was generous in his assessment, reportedly saying that the Alan Taylor-directed film had reinvigorated and created a renaissance for the franchise.
While fans think that money exchanged hands for Jim’s endorsement we put it down to two things… Paramount and Titanic and RESIDUALS… even if Jim Cameron is not involved in a Terminator movie he will get money from his writing credit for characters and story… so whatever Genisys made Jim will have gotten a cut. So, while Paramount and Skydance Productions were likely not down a back alley giving Jim a briefcase of money in the dead of night… Jim kinda got paid something.
Audiences disagreed and the franchise seemed out of gas when the $155 million film grossed $440 million worldwide, but didn’t do nearly well enough in the U.S. Perhaps Cameron was foreshadowing his own future return to the franchise. Much the way that Sony used to rush Spider-Man movies to stay ahead of a rights-reversion ticking clock, it was always known that Cameron would regain clout eventually. It didn’t seem that Skydance or Paramount had much interest continuing the creative track of the last film, but real creative involvement by Cameron, even if he doesn’t direct, changes the whole ballgame. One only has to look at Aliens, True Lies, Titanic or Avatar to see what he is capable of creatively when he puts his mind to something.
Hearing that the Genisys creative track is Terminated brings a huge sigh of relief to us and we are sure it will do the same for the majority of the Terminator fan base!
I don’t know anything more than I’ve disclosed here, including whether they reboot the whole thing or pick up from where Cameron left off after the second film. I’ve heard the hope is for Miller to direct whatever they come up with. Cameron is booked for four Avatar sequels, to shoot two at a time.
There we have it. So let’s break this down a little…
James Cameron sadly won’t be directing but he will be “godfathering the project” which likely means a producer or most likely an Executive Producer credit… obviously the concern comes in the form of; is this just a fancy courtesy title job (a glorified version of the Genisys endorsement), or will he actually be hands on in offering substantial story ideas to the project?
Science Fiction Authors seem to be in mind for the project to bring the real direction of the story, we have had some pretty good novels from the Terminator franchise surprisingly with Terminator Salvation’s novels (they were much better than the movie) and could be a point of interest for Mr Ellison.
Regarding Director Tim Miller; this website was very supportive of Deadpool because the movie was Rated R. James Cameron also had input at 20th Century Fox that the film should be allowed to be Rated R when Executives kept rejecting such a Rating… Deadpool was a very different Genre to Terminator, the only thing familiar is some stylish action and car chase sequences.
While sketchy- it was also reported that Miller and Ryan Reynolds fell out over Deadpool 2; with sources citing that Miller wanted to reach a wider audience with the sequel, did he want to PG-13 the sequel? Miller then went on to his next project, reportedly a Sonic The Hedgehog movie for Sony. Obviously this could raise alarm bells with some hardcore Terminator Fans as to what direction the 6th movie will take.
If we could offer Tim Miller any advice it is that Terminator Fans can be rabid beings, most are tired of comedy and one liners; the majority of the fans now are older and more mature… we do not want a children’s movie in disguise,- we do not want smiling Terminators, we want monosyllabic cyborg assassins that kill and if that means killing humans… we want to reconnect with the story that mattered and that involves Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and her son and future leader of mankind (John Connor). Fans want a fusion of the horror and gritty darkness of the first movie fused with the action spectacle of the second… minus the cheese. We would also like to swap any possible sex scenes out for more blood, violence and storytelling; a trade in which we would be happy to see happen. We could go on forever but many of our readers would fall asleep and obviously have lives to attend to. One more thing, no more friendly protector Terminator Units this time; can we have The Real Sarah Connor and John Connor save the world instead? Make Schwarzenegger the ultimate obstacle and villain again (T-800)! Sarah Connor does NOT need saving!
We just dearly hope this is what we want it to be and not a facade of “world building” in disguise. We care very dearly for this franchise and we do want a true sequel to Terminator 2, it is just that we want it as hardcore as the first movie, as gritty and as horror fueled as possible. We keep saying it over and over again but we need to go back to the roots. Sadly the studios keep taking things fans say far too literally and without looking into the deeper meanings and details. Most fans don’t actually know what they want but for those of you that do… we hope we get what is wanted, needed and expected!
Let’s just hope that T6 is, at the very least, banned in China; staying true to the history of the franchise,- or this could be a sign of things to come…
The Terminator (1984) to this day remains banned in China and has never had a theatrical release there…
Good luck David Ellison and Tim Miller (you’re gonna need it) you have a Terminator curse to fight and one hell of a loyal fan base to appease!
Source: Deadline.com
Update: Find out who we would cast in the lead roles of a Terminator 2 sequel by clicking the image below!
