Friday, March 16, 2018

Terminator 6 Is Definitely Happening

Like a T-1000 that just keeps coming, the Terminator franchise just keeps on picking its feet up and moving forward. Hot on the heels of 2015's much-maligned Terminator: Genisys, the franchise is rebooting again, bringing back the one true Sarah Connor, Linda Hamilton, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's happening under the direction of Deadpool helmer, Tim Miller. Even though casting was already underway and things seemed to be moving forward, Terminator 6 wasn't officially official, but now it is. Screenwriter Billy Ray confirmed the project and the start date saying:

Terminator got its official GREEN-LIGHT yesterday. Production begins June 19. Add my name to the list of very happy Linda Hamilton fans...

We more or less knew that Terminator 6 was happening but it's cool to get this confirmation from Billy Ray on Twitter that things are definitively moving forward. The June start date is what we had heard and the film should be on track for a 2019 release date. While the franchise has struggled for some time, there are reasons to be optimistic about this next entry in the saga of man versus machine. The man who brought this story to life in the first place and delivered some of the best sci-fi films of all time, James Cameron, is returning to the franchise in a more active role to help shepherd it back to its former glory. Tim Miller is also an exciting choice to direct the film and hopefully he can honor the mythology while bringing something fresh to the series.

Terminator 6 is expected to ignore/retcon the films post-Terminator 2: Judgement Day and act as a sequel to that film, reuniting audiences with Sarah Connor. And I think I can safely say that Billy Ray is not alone in being excited to see Linda Hamilton's badass icon on screen once again. In addition to the returning cast, Terminator 6 has already begun the process of bringing in fresh faces to the franchise. Halt and Catch Fire and Blade Runner 2049 actress Mackenzie Davis is currently in negotiations to join the film as a human soldier-assassin. I'm sure we will start to hear more casting news pretty soon with the production start date only a few months away.

There is an argument to be made that the Terminator franchise needs to be allowed to die. But in modern Hollywood, as long as something has name recognition and the nostalgia factor, it's probably not going anywhere. Fortunately, this reboot has more encouraging ingredients going for it than Terminator: Salvation or Terminator: Genisys so maybe this will be the one to finally do what Mad Max: Fury Road, Batman Begins and Rise of the Planet of the Apes did for those franchises. I still question the need for Arnold Schwarzenegger to be in every one of these things but if it means I get more of the original Sarah Connor, I'll take it.

Terminator 6 is scheduled to hit theaters on July 26, 2019. To see all the biggest movies hitting theaters a little sooner, check out our 2018 release schedule. And for all the latest in how movies are telegraphing our defensive strategies to our would-be robot overlords, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.