In February rumours were abound that former Governor and action star Arnold Schwarzenegger was considering a return to his iconic role, now it looks like it will be happening very soon. The rights to make at least two more installments of The Terminator franchise have been nabbed in a dramatic bid that recently played out between Lionsgate and Annapurna Films.
Producer Megan Ellison won the auction for the rights to make more sequels and continue the ‘Skynet’ storyline. While her resume doesn’t include blockbusters or cyborg themed movies, she has upcoming projects that include a retooled Bin Laden story and her brother is a Paramount-based Skydance producer/financier.
Justin Lin‘s car racing / heist flick Fast Five has hit pay dirt at the box office, and he’s been a favorite of the studios to helm the next Terminator for some time. He’s now on board along with Schwarzenegger to begin a new chapter in the apocalyptic franchise.
Before the deal was clinched, Lin talked about his involvement with a new Terminator flick:
Terminator was one of my favorite films growing up. And I feel I have a take that I would love to see, and I’ve talked with Arnold and we’ve talked and we’ll see. Again, I would love to do it, but it has to be the right circumstances. It has to be the right people. And there’s other projects too. But I’m in a position now that I can choose more than I could a year ago, two years ago.
Fast Five proved Justin Lin’s competence with visceral action, a necessary ingredient of a good Terminator flick, though a compelling story is also required and not just a rehash of previous ideas.
The inclusion of Arnie’s character is also a questionable device, just in what capacity will his image be used, or will the former bodybuilder crank up the juice and hit the gym to return to something of his former glory. Terminator 2 screenwriter William Wisher has offered his take on extending the franchise and it would make sense to involve an original architect with a better sense of the premise, rather than the skewed efforts of ‘Rise of the Machines’ and the less than rewarding ‘Salvation’.
With the rights nabbed, there’s no word on when the new Terminator film will go into production. Though with another ‘Fast and the Furious’ on the way and the limits of a CGI Arnie, plans would want to be underway very soon.
via: Deadline
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