Does anyone honestly still care heavily about the Terminator franchise anymore? The last few entries in the franchise have been a mess and completely contradicted each other (Yes, I’m looking at you Salvation and Genisys). After 25 years, the powerhouse actress Linda Hamilton is reportedly returning to the franchise. First reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Hamilton is apparently re-teaming with director James Cameron on the 7th entry in the Sci-Fi franchise. Cameron of course directed the original classics, Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Other than Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton was the other fan-favorite in the first two films with her performances as Sarah Connor. That being said, it could be interesting to see James Cameron and Linda Hamilton work together again. There’s only one problem: Does anyone truly care anymore? Has the Terminator franchise had its time?
Cameron has always had very strong female characters in his films. When he made the announcement that Hamilton would be returning, it was apparent that he’s hoping to make another impact on gender roles in action films. Personally, I think that potentially affecting the perception of gender roles could be beneficial to Hollywood. There are just a handful of issues that come with having Hamilton return as Sarah Connor.
It is no secret that the Terminator timeline is completely screwed up. Sarah Connor died off-screen in 2003’s installment, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. This is the biggest issue when it comes to her being in future Terminator movies. If her character died, how can she come back? Well that’s just the annoying beauty of a franchise that deals with machines: She can easily come back as some kind of artificial intelligence. The story details for the next Terminator film have not been released yet, but Cameron is one of the producers so one can guess he’ll have a heavy hand in the film.
The first two Terminator films are undeniably some of the best Science-Fiction films of all time, so the fact that Cameron, Hamilton, and Schwarzenegger are all returning for the next installment is a little bit exciting. But with 2015’s Terminator: Geniysis being pretty much hated by critics, the pressure is on for the 7th film to keep the franchise alive. What it’ll all come down to is if the fan base is strong enough to get the hype up.