In a recent interview with MTV, director James Cameron weighed in on what he thought the best direction for TERMINATOR 5 was, stating that he believes that the T-800 should be the focus of the film.
“I was talking to him back in fall about a new ‘Terminator’ film and quietly advising on that,” he explained. “I was trying to be as encouraging as possible. Frankly, at that time, I thought it needed to be more about him. I told him he should not do it until it’s focused on his character. I think there are some great stories that can be told about that character that haven’t even been thought of yet.”
With director Justin Lin dropping out of the project to focus on the FAST AND THE FURIOUS franchise, the chair is open to a new filmmaker to take the reigns. However, it seems that the Terminator series is at a standstill right now, especially with Arnold lining up a number of films to do before donning the biker leather for another outing as the die hard T-800.
Personally, I think Cameron is right. We’ve seen enough of John Conner at this point. He can easily take a step back as a side character. I think a great direction would be to focus on a first generation T-800, the model that shaped all of the rest, who has survived longer than any other Terminator (which would account for Arnold’s age) and have him end up joining the resistance and fighting against his own kind in the future.
There’s a million different ways to go and Cameron is obviously savvy to that. The best we can hope for is simply a good film and not a “hurry-up-and-make-another-one” retread of similar themes. The first step would involve hiring a director who can spearhead the film. My choice is Duncan Jones (SOURCE CODE) who has proven to have a fresh sci-fi vision, which is exactly what the Terminator franchise needs.
What say you? Agree or disagree with Cameron?