The Terminator franchise is in for some new lead characters, soon. According to Cameron, himself, the next movie focuses on ‘passing the baton’ to a new generation. He said a while ago that he’s looking for an 18-something female to be the centerpiece. Not long ago, Sarah Connor was confirmed to be joining T-800 in this not-so-anticipated sequel. But Cameron stated that at some point in the movie, these iconic leads let a new generation take over, so to speak. Is this a good idea?
Perhaps the potential is there. The previous movies focused primarily on Sarah Connor and her family tree. An argument could be made for Terminator: Salvation, which primarily focused on Sam Worthington’s character. However, John Connor was still present in the film. To some, removing the Connor bloodline from the movie cheapens the original two. Skynet’s entire presence in the original trilogy of movies was sending back a machine to kill its greatest enemy, John Connor. It is possible the reins would stay in the Connor bloodline… somehow. But it’s not very likely. And legacy films are extremely easy to mess up.
The argument in favor this change is very simple. The series has arguably had no good installments since Terminator 2, nearly 30 years ago. Injecting some new blood into the franchise could work. It could introduce a new direction for the franchise that easily restores life to it. Star Wars did this to a debatable degree of success. For better or worse, Finn and Rey are the leads, now. The similarity is uncanny. Franchises that overextend the importance of a particular character or group tend to go off the tracks. Jaws: The Revenge, anyone? And that’s just one example. Skynet must have a seriously one-track mind if it’s only concern is the Connors. Is no one else a threat? Maybe it’s time to see someone else.
That isn’t all, either. Terminator 6 raked in plenty of attention, over the past few weeks. Deadpool‘s director, Tim Miller, joined the project. Sarah Connor returns to form with Linda Hamilton back to play her. The movie completely ignores the events of Terminator 3, Terminator Salvation, and Terminator Genisys. It is a direct sequel to Terminator: Judgment Day (also known as “the best one”). The writer’s room includes Charles Eglee, Josh Friedman, and David Goyer.
But the latest news is that the film has an official release date. The untitled Terminator sequel hits theaters on July 26, 2019.