James Cameron confirms return for his biggest sci-fi franchise, but with a twist

(Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios)

published 20 September 2024

Quick Summary

Director James Cameron has confirmed plans to make new Terminator movies, but without Arnold Schwarzenegger nor Linda Hamilton.

In fact, he wants to move away from the Sarah Connor / T-800 story entirely.

When it comes to 80s and 90s sci-fi blockbusters, is there a bigger name than James Cameron? He kicked Ridley Scott's Alien franchise into overdrive with the marine-fuelled, gung-ho sequel Aliens, and took us on an otherworldly adventure under the sea in The Abyss. However, there's one major series that he kicked off in 1984 that ended up on every science fiction fan's bedroom wall at one point or another – Terminator.

Now it seems he's ready to return to the franchise – or, at least, okay a new set of movies and/or TV shows set in the same universe. But, unlike some of the more recent outings, they are destined to ditch the oft-trodden Sarah Connor storyline originally started in The Terminator.

THE TERMINATOR (1984) | Official Trailer | MGM - YouTube

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Speaking to Empire magazine as part of the first movie's 40th anniversary celebrations, Cameron revealed that it's time to move on from the origin story: "This is the moment when you jettison everything that is specific to the last 40 years of Terminator," he said.

However, that doesn't mean starting afresh – just not constantly referring back to the Arnie and Linda Hamilton-fuelled saga: "You get too inside it, and then you lose a new audience because [they] care much less about that stuff than you think they do,” he added.

"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."

When prodded by Empire on plans for a new series of films, Cameron continued: "It’s more than a plan. That’s what we’re doing.

"That’s all I’ll say for right now."

In the meantime, you can watch the 80s original – The Terminator – on Prime Video in the UK right now. Amazon acquired the rights as part of its MGM buyout a couple of years ago, so it's now available to view on the streaming service.

It's also to stream at no extra cost on AMC+ in the US.

The Cameron-directed sequel, T2: Judgment Day, is currently available in ITVX in the UK and Netflix in the States.

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