Jennifer Avary
With Paramount removing the “Terminator : Genisys” sequel from the schedule, and certain rights to the series due back to it’s original creator James Cameron’s if it doesn’t get going by 2019, it looks very much like [yet] another reboot of the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring classic might be on the cards.
While it’s a given, I suppose, that someone will use the “Terminator” name again, the question remains who that someone might be?
Will it be Cameron, who has sworn black and blue that he’s done with the franchise, who will own the brand again in a couple of weeks? Or will it be one of the other majors? Despite not doing much for Paramount, the “Terminator” brand is still considered a viable, successful brand – any shingle would likely want to get their hands on it. They might just have to come up something a little more ambitious and exciting than Alan Taylor’s “Genisys”.
Annapurna’s Megan Ellison paid over $20 million for the rights to the franchise a couple of years back, ultimately handing the property over to her producer brother David Ellison. Via his Skydance label, “Terminator Genisys” was developed and consequently released to lackluster numbers last Summer.
“Genisys” was intended to be the first part in a new trilogy of films, one which would retain the services of star Schwarzenegger throughout. At one stage, Ellison – confident he had a hit on his hands – was eyeing a TV series spin-off too.
When “Genisys” pocketed only $90 million domestically (it did better worldwide, where it made $440.6 million), development on the intended sequel(s) stopped. And now, the studio has rubbed the movie off it’s release schedule altogether.
Fret not though “Terminator” fans, a bigscreen re-issue of “Terminator 2 : Judgement Day” will be out this year, retrofitted in 3D.
