James Cameron's Ambitious Ideas for New Terminator Movies Will Infuriate Some Fans

The plans are to move beyond the characters we know, and use the universe as a starting point.

By Russ Burlingame

Forty years after the first movie's release, Terminator creator James Cameron is ready to evolve the franchise, leaving behind the increasingly insular mythology that has weighed down recent installments. Cameron hasn't directed a Terminator movie since 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but has retained some level of creative control over the franchise since its creation. The last couple of installments of the Terminator franchise have delved deeper and deeper into the mythology between John Connor and the T-800, but according to Cameron, that might have been why they didn't connect with audiences to the degree they hoped.

Speaking with Empire magazine, Cameron suggested that it's time for Terminator to evolve, and perhaps to alienate those who have been very committed to the mythology as it exists since the '90s.

"This is the moment when you jettison everything that is specific to the last 40 years of Terminator, but you live by those principles," Cameron said. "You get too inside it, and then you lose a new audience because the new audience care much less about that stuff than you think they do....That's the danger, obviously, with Avatar as well, but I think we've proven that we have something for new audiences."

That suggests that the next installment may abandon the characters we know -- but will almost certainly avoid the cast that has already appeared. He's more interested in exploring the themes and high concepts of the franchise, which -- like Terminator: Dark Fate -- allows the story to evolve past that one "savior" figure.

"You've got powerless main characters, essentially, fighting for their lives, who get no support from existing power structures, and have to circumvent them but somehow maintain a moral compass," Cameron explained. "And then you throw AI into the mix. Those principles are sound principles for storytelling today, right? So I have no doubt that subsequent Terminator films will not only be possible, but they'll kick ass. But this is the moment where you jettison all the specific iconography."

Apparently, the ideas for what to do next on Terminator are bigger than just a general plan. Cameron suggests there is something short-term and actionable happening.

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"It's more than a plan," Cameron told the magazine. "That's what we're doing. That's all I'll say for right now."

There are no plans for a new Terminator yet, although per what Cameron has to say, it sounds like the next one will be a significant departure from the franchise.

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