New Terminator Movie Confirmed to Break Major Franchise Trend That Only One Sequel Has Failed to Do

The Terminator franchise has been on pause for six years now, but like all things in Hollywood, it can’t stay dormant for too long. James Cameron‘s science fiction series may have produced two of the most iconic movies of their respective decades, but since then, the series has been defined by diminishing returns and lackluster sequels that fail to really capture audiences’ imaginations. 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate seemed at the time to be exactly the kind of film that fans really wanted, bringing back Linda Hamilton after a nearly three-decade absence and enlisting James Cameron to produce. It became the lowest-grossing sequel of the entire franchise

Now, plans are in motion for the Terminator series to continue again, in some form at least. James Cameron has already confirmed that he’s been tapped to write a story for a new film in the series, but has lamented that he doesn’t have any ideas for it just yet. In a more recent interview, though, Cameron offered a major confirmation about one thing that won’t be in the film, revealing that series star Arnold Schwarzenegger won’t return to the series, breaking a major franchise trend.

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Speaking in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron offered some updates about the progress of a new Terminator movie, revealing that after the “dust clears” from the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, he intends to jump into development of the new movie. He added, “There are a lot of narrative problems to solve. The biggest is how do I stay enough ahead of what’s really happening to make it science fiction?”

Cameron was then asked if Schwarzenegger will return, prompting the news that many fans will be devastated to hear. “I can safely say he won’t be [in it],” Cameron revealed. “It’s time for a new generation of characters. I insisted Arnold had to be involved in [2019’s] Terminator: Dark Fate, and it was a great finish to him playing the T-800. There needs to be a broader interpretation of Terminator and the idea of a time war and super intelligence. I want to do new stuff that people aren’t imagining.”

Ever since the first Terminator movie in 1984, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been THE recurring element of the entire franchise. Across the six movies that have been produced in the series, only one so far has been done without the involvement of Schwarzenegger: 2009’s Terminator Salvation. Fans may recall a body double being used in the film with a CGI recreation of Schwarzenegger’s face, technically meaning that his character appeared in the movie. Due to Schwarzenegger’s duties as governor of California at the time, he didn’t actually film anything for the movie, but instead gave his blessing for his likeness to be used.

To date, Salvation marks the only Terminator movie to not actually have Schwarzenegger in it, even though his face does appear. Now that we know Terminator 7 actually won’t include the star (though, in theory, we can’t rule out a similar appearance), it does make the potential for the movie very distinct. Will fans of the series be interested in a story that doesn’t include Schwarzenegger in any form, or are they eager for new stories and new characters? The Predator and Alien franchises have proven this can be accomplished, so maybe it’s time for Terminator to try it too.