With the Memorial Day weekend opening of "Terminator Salvation" looming, the future of the franchise has become intriguing.
"Terminator" is the only franchise in which the distributors aren't locked in for future films.
MGM has a 30-day right of first refusal to finance and distribute the fifth "Terminator" film, a right earned through the settlement of a lawsuit between the studio and Halcyon partners Victor Kubicek and Derek Anderson. According to sources, MGM has every intention of making a serious play for the franchise, potentially trumping Warner Bros., which is distributing "Terminator Salvation" in domestic territories, and Sony, which is releasing the film overseas.
The distribution drama promises to be a real cliffhanger that will begin once Halcyon delivers its demands to MGM along with a first draft of the screenplay for the fifth "Terminator."
So Terminator Salvation has come and perhaps very soon will be gone. May is a hard month for repeat customers and next week’s release of Up may limit some Terminator action. That said, the Christian Bale/Sam Worthington vehicle managed to pull in more than $67 million and The Halcyon Corporation has already started the wheels turning on the sequel which may land as early as 2011. Despite how hard several of us Rejects have been on the film, we’re all for a sequel. We love us the Apocalypse and robotic assassins. But if they’re going to make this movie, they better make it right. Thus, we have compiled a list of demands that must be met to ensure success.
Yea, I really hate how movies make post-apocalyptic scenes now..the coloring, the people, ugh. It's always some drab yellowish brown and people looking like they weren't survivors of the future, but primitive tribes from the past. It's fine in one movie...stop copying the same formula in every other movie.
We need the dark blue back. With red lasers streaming everywhere.
__________________ Paying member of the Official Cliegg Lars Fan Club
Article is dated before the film dropped like a rock at the box office in consecutive weeks. Writers at CHUD are already of the opinion the series is over.
__________________
"I'm not smart so much as I am not dumb." - Harlan Ellison
The best option now is to reboot - start over like so many other series have done. It's paid off terrifically for James Bond, Batman & Star Trek; others will be following.
__________________
"I'm not smart so much as I am not dumb." - Harlan Ellison
Agreed. I just read their article, and I can't help but agree that the first script's ending, without the "Project Angel" crap, along with a combination of Salvation's story and the original story would have been a much, much better movie. It does seem like McG and Nolan were just rewriting scene by scene while on the set, rather than just sitting down and fixing what was wrong with the script in the first place.
I just don't see how they can fix this franchise without completely rebooting it.
__________________
The only thing thats with you your whole life is complete and utter darkness.
I thought Salvation wasn't bad, but I do agree that some stuff in the original script sounded great. I like the idea of Connor keeping a low profile (although I don't like the idea of Marcus becoming 'Connor'). I guess if they went with that script then no one would go and see it as it has no connections (apart from Reese) to the previous films that people know.
I really hope there is a part 5 in the Termiantor mythology. Things can become good again.
'There is no fate for what we make'.
Just because those movies work doesn't mean that the Termiantor needs to be remade. It's had it's reboot with Salvation. That attitude is what is wrong with Hollywood today. I can't believe fans are even considering the option. Some things should just be left alone.
They turn to rebooting when things go so bad with the series, that there isn't a way out. Terminator is getting stuck in the morass of time travel paradoxes. And when your films do poor to sub par business - see Batman and Robin & Star Trek Nemesis, in addition to Terminator Salvation - you really should just go back to the beginning.
Salvation may be considered a reboot of sorts, but instead it's coming off like a huge misfire. Try again.
__________________
"I'm not smart so much as I am not dumb." - Harlan Ellison
Yeah, the whole Marcus is Connor thing is kind of annoying, it basically means that humans needed a machine to win the war for them: something I do not appreciate being that Kyle was such a soldier in the original Terminator. I also like the fact that Connor was on the sub, I think that would have been great and would have allowed the franchise to continue its growth: meaning at the end of Salvation, Connor would have shown himself and everyone would have been like "Its John Connor!" and instead of retreating back to his sub, Connor would have been on the front lines now, just as we saw him in the flashbacks of T2.
I wish that Terminator didn't have to be rebooted, but I would rather have the series continuing rather than it being completely finished, like what seems to be happening after Salvation failed. Its unfortunate, really, because Terminator was the best movie out of them all, I enjoyed it a lot more than T2, and I don't see how they could make a better movie than the original.
__________________
The only thing thats with you your whole life is complete and utter darkness.
Last edited by Darth Macabre on Jun 9th, 2009 at 08:18 PM
Christian Bale has admitted that he and director McG have not discussed the possibility of a sequel to this summer’s Terminator Salvation.
The Public Enemies star indicated that he is not contractually obliged to involve himself in a follow-up, however, he said that he would reprise his role of John Connor if McG can develop the right screenplay, Sci Fi Wire reports.
Bale said: "We've had no talks about it or discussions about it. It all purely depends upon script."
McG had previously revealed that he had two more Terminator instalments planned, the first of which could take place in a modern-day setting.
Terminator Salvation has grossed a worldwide total of $320 million.
Ooh, I'm glad it's still going ahead (for now). Found this; McG repeating, recently, what he told us back in May:
"I strongly suspect the next movie is going to take place in a [pre-Judgment Day] 2011. John Connor is going to travel back in time and he's going to have to galvanize the militaries of the world for an impending SkyNet invasion. They've figured out time travel to the degree where they can send more than one naked entity. So you're going to have hunter killers and transports and harvesters and everything arriving in our time and Connor fighting back with conventional military warfare, which I think is going to be (expletive removed) awesome. I also think he's going to meet a scientist that's going to look a lot like present-day Robert Patrick [who famously played the T-1000 in Terminator 2], talking about stem-cell research and how we can all live as idealized, younger versions of ourselves.