A couple of years ago, the rights to the Terminator franchise were auctioned off, and they eventually ended up in the hands of producer Megan Ellison. She recruited director Justin Lin, Arnold Schwarzenegger was all set to return, and then… nothing.
Lin opted instead to go and make Fast & Furious 6, and probably Fast & Furious 7. Schwarzenegger opted for other projects in the first instance too. And it seems that the new Terminator movie is no closer to fruition. So what’s happening?
Moviehole has filled in one or two of the gaps, citing a source close to the project. It found out that the project is on pause for the time being, and that Schwarzenegger hasn’t fully committed yet, because he wants “a script a lot better than Rise Of The Machines”. It’s that script problem that seemingly contributed to Justin Lin walking away from the film. It seems little progress has been made since.
The idea that Lin and Schwarzenegger were apparently attracted to “would’ve centred on an alternate timeline in which Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese lived”. But a suitable screenplay was never produced. Moviehole also reports that Megan Ellison’s slate is jam-packed at the moment, too. Whether Schwarzenegger will remain interested in unclear.
The rights to the Terminator franchise were sold for so much money that it’s inevitable that something will happen at some point. But the chances of the previously-mooted Terminator 5 in its then-existing shape happening seem remote.
There’s a lot more on this at Moviehole, here.
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