James Cameron, who is currently in the process of making four sequels to “Avatar,” certainly knows a thing or two about squeezing a movie property until there’s nothing left to give. The man behind the groundbreaking “The Terminator” and the iconic “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” (which is headed to theaters next month in an unnecessary 3D re-release) has watched over the years as the series he started has run itself into the ground. However, the rights for “The Terminator” franchise come back into the hands of Cameron in 2019, and he’s eager to set the ship right.
In an interview with News Australia, the director revealed he’s currently working on rebooting “The Terminator,” and of course, it’s not just going to be one movie.
“I am in discussions with [producer] David Ellison, who is the current rights holder globally for the ‘Terminator’ franchise and the rights in the US market revert to me under US copyright law in a year and a half so he and I are talking about what we can do. Right now we are leaning toward doing a three-film arc and reinventing it,” Cameron said.
Presumably, overhauling the franchise will include “Deadpool” director Tim Miller, who was announced last year to be the director of a brewing reboot. But it certainly sounds like they’re planning something much more ambitious.
Meanwhile, fans have pointed out time and again how Cameron has at times endorsed the sequels, including the truly execrable “Terminator Genisys,” the director says he was just doing his buddy, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a favor.
“I think it’s fairly widely known that I don’t have a lot of respect for the films that were made later,” Cameron stated. “I was supportive at the time in each case for Arnold’s sake because he is a close friend. He has been a mate of mine since 33 years ago so I was always supportive and never too negative. But they didn’t work for me for various reasons.”
There’s a big difference between not being too negative, and recording video featurettes for ‘Genisys,’ but I guess it all depends on how you look at it. At any rate, it looks like Cameron is going to be spending a good chunk of the years ahead branding and franchising “Avatar” and “The Terminator.” Whether or not Schwarzenegger will return — he insists that he will, and Cameron says the actor might appear to “pass the baton” — remains to be seen. [via Bloody Disgusting]