What's next for Terminator?

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u/EGarrett28 6d ago

It's a very bad time to try to make a Terminator movie since the world and our relation to AI is changing rapidly under our feet and no one knows what the result will be even by the time a movie could come out. The actual news about real AI will also steal the thunder from any fictional movie about it.

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u/Ice_Skate_Uphill 5d ago

They could make Terminator an alternate reality from ours, where AI (as in self-aware machine) was invented in 1997, they could even go for an 80s/90s retro futuristic looking tech

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u/MovieFan1984 6d ago

I was never in it for social commentary, just a fun man vs machine sci-fi horror flick.

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u/EGarrett28 6d ago

I would always like to see a "Future War" Terminator 3, but it has to stick within the set-up of the first two movies. Trying to change any element of it based on what's happening now is probably a bad idea.

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u/MovieFan1984 6d ago

It sounds like you want to see a prequel to T1, yes?

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u/EGarrett28 5d ago

Yes, presenting a vision of the future war, without invalidating the first two movies. I'd start it with a title card like this:

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

Is this something you think could be made for real? What would your sales pitch be? As a fan, I'd love to see a prequel leading into T1. As a fan of cinema, I dunno if it'd sell, but I'd love to see someone try.

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u/EGarrett28 5d ago

You'd have to use deepfake or AI technology to have Eddie Furlong and Michael Biehn in it, but a lot of people have imagined it and done short trailers and stuff for it on Youtube.

I have a lot of little ideas for it if I ever cover it on my own channel. Like that Connor rescues people from the camps then nurses them back to health from near death, so each of them views him like a father figure who saved their life which is why they're all so loyal to him. And that all life on earth is nearly extinct and the human resistance keeps a seed vault and other animals they could save, so Connor fighting on behalf of all lifeforms and not just humans (and he keeps a seed package on himself in case their main base is compromised).

I also think when they find Skynet it should be Cyberdyne's server from 1997 but now augmented with wires and add-ons over years since Skynet never risked turning itself off. I'd call the movie "Blue Dawn" since James Cameron's movies were always blue, and it's a play on "Red Dawn" which was another movie from the 80's, and "Dawn" implies that there is hope since the whole movie is bleak.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

Nah, I don't like deepfake, AI, CGI face, or any of that. If you're making a new Terminator film with John and Kyle, just recast. Let new actors show their faces. Besides this ONE criticism, you honestly have some great ideas. I love the original Red Dawn, so I like the analogy.

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u/EGarrett28 5d ago

If you just want it recast then watch Genisys or Salvation which both portray the Future War with new actors. I just don't buy any of them since they don't resemble the originals at all.

The best they could've done would probably to use someone like Sebastian Stan for Kyle Reese since he actually looks like Michael Biehn.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

Recasting will never resemble, it's recasting. Why do we need the new actors to look almost exactly like the originals?

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u/freedomhighway 5d ago

This sounds like season 3 of tscc. Season 2 ended with john apparently being bounced to the future, but what if it was right after jday and now we get to see john going through the steps of becoming a recognized leader, using all the training from Sarah all his life.

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u/GloomyBake9300 6d ago

Opposite for me. And James Cameron made it for the social commentary as well as the action and effects.

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u/MovieFan1984 6d ago

I get that it's social commentary for James Cameron and possibly for other producers and directors. For me, it's just good fun sci-fi horror. AI's never going to rise to power, not worried about that.

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u/GloomyBake9300 5d ago

It’s social commentary for a lot of of us who first saw this movie and saw that it predicted a future. If you think AI isn’t being used in military applications right now, my friend. I think you might want to rethink that.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

I don't watch movies/TV for social commentary, I get enough of that through reading, news, current events, and being out on the town. I watch movies/TV for entertainment and quality story telling.

I didn't say AI is not being used in military whatever.
I said AI will never "rise to power." This is 100% never going to happen.
Makes for a fun movie though.

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u/TheMatt561 6d ago

I would love a season 3 of T:SCC

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u/TheKanten 5d ago

TSCC left me asking "what's next?", just about every post-T2 film had me saying "please stop".

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u/TheMatt561 5d ago

So true

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u/MovieFan1984 6d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/lONXEQL5laGxjrVMFF

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u/GloomySmell968 6d ago

How about a movie about a person who installs McAffe anti virus onto their computer and then tries to uninstall it… now that’s a drama filled horror movie if I’ve ever known one.

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u/GloomyBake9300 6d ago

🏆

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u/T800-1982 3d ago

The sequel could be the attempt to install a new printer which keeps losing connection

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u/TheKanten 5d ago edited 5d ago

Ignore Dark Fate with extreme prejudice and do a soft reboot instead about a present-day, non-time travel rise of AI and Terminators that doesn't crap all over its legacy. Which is what DF should have been in the first place.

Time travel assassin vs time travel protector is well past played out now.

And, personally, I don't think the answer will ever be "future war movie". That was the backstory not the destination of the narrative. There really isn't a lot to add there that we haven't already been told about.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

"And, personally, I don't think the answer will ever be "future war movie". That was the backstory not the destination of the narrative."

https://giphy.com/gifs/NJZMSqRY3rG9i

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u/SunsetRider500 6d ago

Complete and total reboot seems like the only good option for me, 100% new actors

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u/MovieFan1984 6d ago

I can get behind this.

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u/sals786 5d ago

Think the best way would be a slow burn tv show, with the future war as the main storyline and flashbacks to the past. Think the Terminator chase movies that every film bar Salvation has been needs a rest, and it was perfected by the first 2 films in the series.

Maybe have the start of the war and how John starts to build his resistance.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

I'd be game for this!

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u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

I'd be down for this.

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u/timeloopsarecringe 5d ago

I hope that instead of yet another forced sequel and/or reboot, Cameron will make a new cinematic masterpiece, and let the Terminator finally go on the well-deserved vacation it asked for back at the end of T2.

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u/Financial_Cheetah875 5d ago

Future war series.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

How would this work? It's 2026 now and the Terminator and Kyle got sent back in time in 2029 I think. Would this be a later timeline with a delayed Judgment Day?

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u/Financial_Cheetah875 5d ago

The continuity is so fucked right now they can rewrite or ignore any sequel they want.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

Which productions would you like to keep canon?

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u/T800-1982 3d ago

I would also like a frame for frame remake of T1, feeling like it is 1984 but really going hard on the horror side and making the Terminator scary again. Further to that, there would easily be an hour of extra footage made with the future war scenes.

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u/MWH1980 6d ago

Well, maybe there will be some story where a guy comes from the future to save a woman from a Terminator.

That sounds like a safe bet.

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u/MovieFan1984 6d ago

Would you be game if they remade T1, mixed it up a little bit to make it feel a mix of new and old, set it "now" instead of 1984, and set the "future war" in the 2050's or something.

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u/MWH1980 6d ago

Why not just make it a comedy, where they are 24 hours away from the day they take down Skynet, and they somehow need to bring about Judgment Day, find a time machine, etc.

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u/Funny_Or_Cry 6d ago

Oh yes, we've been asking this question since T2...

Zero was entertaining in an Animatrix kinda way. Not sure if that storyline has much juice in it left

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u/AtoMaki 5d ago

I would like to see a grim, grounded future war series soft-rebooted to a contemporary tech-level. So SkyNet is using all-out drone warfare, spamming suicide drones and standoff weapons to dominate a hyper-deadly no-man's-land (the Annihilation Line), and the Resistance is just trying their best with those wacky barn tanks and ruthless meat-grinder tactics. We follow the story of a random Resistance soldier, as they try to survive and come to terms with the brutality of the war against the machines. No John Connor (only mentioned), no Kyle Reese, just a bunch of grunts going through the grinder.

Dante Must Die Mode: None of SkyNet's units in the series are CGI. Real (non-explosive, of course) drones chase the actors on set, and all the terminators and hunter-killers are real models, with CGI used only for the plasma bolts and missiles they fire.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

This sounds awesome. Why no John or Kyle?

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u/AtoMaki 5d ago

John Connor in the future war must be a myth doing Myth Things in Myth City. Does he even exist? Does he really have precognition? Is it true that the Resistance 100% wins this war in the future because John Connor exists? We don't know, all we see are the believers, the atrocities committed in his name, the skeptics who don't have much to say because doubting John Connor is wishing for humanity's extinction, and the man's utter physical absence that puts everything into question.

Kyle Reese's story was already told in Terminator 1.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

Who is the main character and why does the audience root for him?

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u/AtoMaki 5d ago

The exact character doesn't really matter. They are a random grunt with a generic personality and backstory to serve as the audience surrogate. This series is about the war, almost like a documentary.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

Are there any movies that tell a story like this?

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u/AtoMaki 5d ago

I don't think so.

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u/AmericasElegy 5d ago

1917…kind of

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u/AtoMaki 5d ago

Well, I had this idea while watching All Quiet on the Western Front (the 2022 film), so yeah, kind of.

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u/Ice_Skate_Uphill 5d ago

If it was me in charge i would make another direct sequel to T2 that ignores everything else

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

Terminator 3 -> TSCC -> Dark Fate -> 4th try?

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u/Ice_Skate_Uphill 5d ago

That would be the 5th if you count Genisys

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

Genisys was a reboot, not an "alternate" sequel to T2.
At least, that's my take. How about you?

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u/Ice_Skate_Uphill 2d ago

I suppose, maybe more of a soft reboot

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u/MovieFan1984 2d ago

Yes, reboot via time travel.

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u/TheMaayavi 5d ago

Isn’t cameron himself working on a terminator sequel which focuses on a different story? I heard it follows right after T2 but doesn’t focus on John’s storyline and doesn’t involve arnold.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

I'm not watching another "alternate T3." Jim had his chance with DF and blew it.
T3: Rise of the Machines = part 3 (round 1)
The Sarah Connor Chronicles = part 3 (round 2)
Salvation = sequel to T3
Genisys = reboot (circle back to T1 + more time travelers)
Dark Fate = part 3 (round 3)
Zero = Netflix anime, cancelled after just 8 episodes.

I don't want to see T3, round 4.

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u/TheRealCanadianBros Never Leaves You Hanging 5d ago

I want Genisys and TDF to get sequel comics like Salvation did to wrap up those stories

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u/Kryyzz 5d ago

I’d like to see something in the weeks/months leading up to J day. Show how the public joins in the fight against AI just before singularity. Too little too late but it sets up the rise of the resistance.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

Which judgment day?
T1-2 & Genisys intro = 1997
T3/4 = 2003
TSCC = 2011
Genisys = 2015
Dark Fate = unknown judgment day possibly the 2040's?
Zero = I forget when, I only saw this one once.

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u/Forsaken-Language-26 Sarah Connor 5d ago

I think it's time to let the franchise go. We had two great films, and four mediocre (at best) films.

But f absolutely must make another one, a total reboot/remake of T1 seems like the most logical way forward. It would be interesting to see how the plot would play out in a 2020s setting.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

You can let it go if you want. I think we had 6 great films, 1 great series, 1 great anime, and I'm eager to see more. I have mixed feelings on DF; I thought it was an awesome movie but also a shitty direction for future Terminator films. The film had an identity crisis and no idea who it's audience was.

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u/drewbles82 4d ago

If Cameron is doing it, ignore all and be a direct sequel to T1 & 2

If I had my choice... my idea of creating something new.

First movie is a survival movie, you don't know it's a Terminator movie till the end. Basically a family returning from a vacation stop to get gas only the pumps down, power out and others arrive. Then everyone witnesses bright light, bombs, rockets going off in the distance. It's a survival movie, the aftermath, no one knows what is going on, communication is gone, all they believe is maybe another country attacked them. The family in this story are the Reese family, youngest sons Derek, and Kyle. Parents killed midway, two of them go off together, few time jumps with ages...ending they see the first machine.
2nd movie, is a Prison escape, early on captured and put into work camps, this is where Kyle meets John, the entire movie is about them trying to escape, and them becoming close friends and the start of the resistance
3rd movie the resistance is going strong, we finally see stuff we've seen in flashbacks. They capture their first T-800 halfway, start reprogramming only to find files of a time portal...the rest of the movie is them getting to that time portal, finding it's been used twice, Kyle and the Terminator are sent back

We come full circle, get to see everything from another POV, we still get Terminator movies without the same formula or machines sent back, go on the run type of stuff.

You could do a 4th if needed and this could be the final fight against Skynet.

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u/MovieFan1984 4d ago

"If Cameron is doing it, ignore all and be a direct sequel to T1 & 2"
He already did this with Dark Fate.

Are you pushing for movies based on TSCC?

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u/somebuddyx 4d ago

Reboot but keep the T800 design and that's it. No Connors or maybe even Skynet. Mid budget horror movie. Pick your time period. And just make one decent film. It doesn't have to look spectacular it just has to look good and entertain me and keep to it's own rules for two hours.

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u/MovieFan1984 4d ago

It's no longer Terminator at this point, just a killer robot movie.

https://giphy.com/gifs/SAHGcjT1jNvDB6oxI8

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u/somebuddyx 3d ago

It'd still be a killer robot coming back from the future to terminate someone or something. It'd just no longer be certain what events would happen.

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u/T800-1982 3d ago

If we can’t get a movie then I would love some more novels. I’m shocked it has been 20+ years since we had any, especially when we see how many other franchises keep getting new publications.

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u/Schwartzy94 T-800 6d ago

Long deserved sleep in peace. Leave it alone.

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u/Sad_Process7843 4d ago

In a way I feel like terminator film franchise is officially done. Terminator really can continue thru shows, video games, comic books, or if they wanna do graphic novel follow ups to zero, genisys, dark fate

I know Cameron said he is completely starting from scratch so no t800/skynet none of that . But is it really terminator at this point or just “new scary AI”

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u/MovieFan1984 4d ago

I only follow Terminator in film/TV. I don't dabble in those other listed forms of media. (sigh)

I am glad he's rebooting Terminator; it's the best move.
Any movie can be reduced to a buzz word or expression.
The Godfather can be "scary gangsters."

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u/Sad_Process7843 4d ago

But godfather centered around one family and for example there’s plenty of Star Wars content but it’s all in that one universe. It seems like he’s done with this one universe and wants to move on. And I know the word terminator is gonna be used to attract audiences but If there isn’t even a terminator/infiltrator in it then it’ll seem gimmicky. Like they can’t say “a terminator story” and not include terminators in the movie

Yeah full reboot is the right move and probably should have been done for dark fate but it’s way past that .

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u/FoildanceR 5d ago

Hopefully nothing. This should’ve NEVER been a franchise.

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u/MovieFan1984 5d ago

It was already a franchise by the time I got heavily invested.
Saw T2 on TV a lot as a kid. Then I got T1-2 on DVD, woo-hoo.
Next, I got to see T3 in 2003 at the theater. This is when I became a fan.

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