James Cameron on the future of the Terminator franchise

James Cameron says future Terminator projects won’t include any familiar characters or iconography from the past movies.

The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day continue to stand the test of time as some of the finest sci-fi action movies ever made. However, the subsequent sequels always felt like they were trying (and failing) to recapture that lightning in a bottle. James Cameron revealed last year that he’s been working on his own secret Terminator project, and while speaking with Empire for the 40th anniversary of the original movie, he dropped a big hint at what it could look like. TL;DR: Don’t expect to see any familiar characters or iconography.

“This is the moment when you jettison everything that is specific to the last 40 years of Terminator, but you live by those principles,” Cameron said, explaining that the franchise needs to move past its iconic characters. “You get too inside it, and then you lose a new audience because the new audience care much less about that stuff than you think they do. That’s the danger, obviously, with Avatar as well, but I think we’ve proven that we have something for new audiences.“

This means no T-800, no Sarah Connor, and no John Connor. Stripping away these elements would take the franchise back to its bones: humans vs machines, and that’s just what Cameron wants. “You’ve got powerless main characters, essentially, fighting for their lives, who get no support from existing power structures, and have to circumvent them but somehow maintain a moral compass. And then you throw AI into the mix,” Cameron teased. “Those principles are sound principles for storytelling today, right? So 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.“

Arnold Schwarzenegger has already said that he’s done with the franchise, and I can’t say I blame him. The last three installments (Terminator: Salvation, Terminator: Genisys, and Terminator: Dark Fate) were each meant to kick-start a new trilogy, but they all underperformed. Taking things back to basics, without any of the baggage of the previous movies, might be the best way to go.