At War With Machines: James Cameron In Discussions to Relaunch The Terminator Franchise

Image courtesy Orion Pictures

The last time that James Cameron directed a Terminator film was T2:Judgment Day. Although he's been on board as a producer, he hasn't been behind the camera on one of the films since the 1991 sequel that many think is the best of the entire series. Over time the franchise has seen dwindling returns at the box office and has struggled to live up to the original two features creatively. 

Its last entry, Dark Fate was an attempt to get the brand back on even footing but it didn't work out. The film was ultimately another bust and seemed to have put a nail in the coffin for The Terminator as a whole. And with Arnold Schwarzenegger nearly aging out of the action game, it looked like the franchise might finally be put to bed. Yet, James Cameron thinks that it might be time for him to return to the series and give it back some luster.

When speaking with the Smartless podcast which features Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Hayes, Cameron says that he has actively been in discussions to kick start the Terminator franchise back under his creative control:

"Well, the Avatar films are about the environment. I'm not dealing with AI. If I were to do another Terminator film and maybe try to launch that franchise again, which is in discussion, but nothing has been decided, I would make it much more about the AI side of it than bad robots gone crazy."

If Cameron were to return to The Terminator, it may actually be quality again. But we'll have to wait and see because he still has three more Avatar movies to complete. 

-CG