At this point, it’s probably safe to say that Arnold Schwarzenegger will “be back,” especially now that producers Megan and David Ellison have announced a new “Terminator” trilogy set to start in 2015 with the man behind the original machine likely to return.
A press release from Skydance Productions and Annapurna Pictures, the arthouse shingle responsible for “The Master” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” touted the return of the sci-fi series with a new “rebooted,” “stand-alone” trilogy that will begin with a first installment on June 26, 2015. The producers, according to Deadline, want to complete the trilogy before 2019, when the rights to the franchise revert back to their creator, James Cameron.
The news does not, however, confirm Schwarzenegger’s involvement, something the former governor has spoken frequently about in the last few months. Two weeks ago, Schwarzenegger reportedly told fans in Australia, “I’m very happy that the studios want me to be in Terminator 5 and to star as the Terminator, which we start shooting in January.” That start date would make sense given the summer 2015 date, as both “Star Wars: Episode VII” and “Marvel’s The Avengers 2” are aiming for the same release window with start dates scheduled for early next year.
When MTV News’ Josh Horowitz last spoke with Cameron, he revealed that he had advised Schwarzenegger about the possibility of another installment. “I was trying to be as encouraging as possible. Frankly, at that time, I thought it needed to be more about [Schwarzenegger],” Cameron said. “I told him he should not do it until it’s focused on his character or he shouldn’t do it. I think there are some great stories that can be told about that character that haven’t even been thought of yet.”
Several questions still remain around a new “Terminator” trilogy. We have no information on how the new films being stand-alone will affect their relationship to the previous four movies in the series and their complicate time travel element.
There’s also no suggestion as to how Schwarzenegger will appear in the series, given that he’s aged quite a bit since the years since the first two “Terminator” movies where he appeared as a much younger robot. Laeta Kalogridis (“Avatar,” “Shutter Island”) and Patrick Lussier (“Drive Angry”) are writing the screenplay.
The new “Terminator” will hits screens on June 26, 2015.
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