Linda Hamilton Weighs in on Terminator: Dark Fate’s Box Office, Would Be “Happy” to Never Return to Franchise

Last year’s Terminator: Dark Fate earned some of the best reviews the franchise has earned in decades, yet it failed to make a major impact at the box office, with star Linda Hamilton addressing those disappointing numbers while also implying that she’s done with the series for good. Hamilton last appeared in 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which many audiences consider to be the high point of the series, which was followed by three lackluster entries before the actress returned to reprise her role as Sarah Connor. Even with Hamilton’s return, in addition to original director James Cameron serving as a producer, the film took in only $261.1 million worldwide on a reported production budget of $185 million.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter about her being optimistic about playing the character again, Hamilton bluntly confirmed, “No.”

“Something says to me… I don’t know. I would really appreciate maybe a smaller version where so many millions are not at stake,” the actress revealed. “Today’s audience is just so unpredictable. I can’t tell you how many laymen just go, ‘Well, people don’t go to the movies anymore.’ That’s not Hollywood analysis; that just comes out of almost everybody’s mouth. It should definitely not be such a high-risk financial venture, but I would be quite happy to never return. So, no, I am not hopeful because I would really love to be done. But, if there were something new that really spoke to me, I am a logical person, and I will always consider viable changes.”

Working for the film was that it ignored the events of all films other than the original two installments, and saw not only Hamilton’s return, but also Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. There was so much promise with the film that Cameron even considered this to be the first entry in a trilogy of new Terminator films.

Sadly, the box office performance has likely stagnated the series’ future indefinitely.

“This is a film that was forged in fire. So yeah, but that’s the creative process, right?” Cameron previously revealed to Collider. “I mean, my work with Robert [Rodriguez] on [Alita: Battle Angel] was very different. Robert loved the script, loved everything, said, ‘I just want to make this movie. I want to make the movie the way you see it.’ I was like, ‘No, you got to make it your movie.’ I had the reverse experience with [Dark Fate director] Tim [Miller], which is Tim wanted to make it his movie. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I kind of know a little about this world.’ So I had the matter and the anti-matter version of that producorial experience.”

Terminator: Dark Fate is out now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.

Do you hope Hamilton will eventually return to the series? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!