There is no denying that James Cameron is one of the most commercially successful directors in history for years and decades. Even before Avatar, an impressive box office success, he had directed such films as Terminator and Titanic. The 2009 film Avatar evolved into a five-part franchise, the second part of which, Avatar: The Way of the Water, now dominates the box office after 13 years (worldwide grosses have confidently surpassed the $1-billion mark). As it turns out, there is another franchise that Cameron wouldn’t mind relaunching: The Terminator. Recently on the Smartless podcast with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, the director revealed that a reboot is indeed being discussed.
Cameron’s penchant for the most advanced technology and story improvement explains the 13-year gap between the two Avatars. Discussing his films and his coverage of artificial intelligence in the film industry, Cameron confirmed the discussion of the reboot:
“If I were to make another Terminator movie and maybe try to re-launch that franchise (which is being discussed but not yet decided), I would make it much more about artificial intelligence than mad, bad robots.” One can only hope that even in such a world, people will be able to go to Captain Cooks casino to get their minds off the problems of artificial intelligence or evil robots without a problem. Gambling is something that helps you not think about what’s going on around you.
Is There Potential?
However, back to Cameron’s idea. Although the director has yet to direct significant parts of the franchise since Terminator: Judgment Day, he’s been involved with such sequels as Terminator: Genesis and Terminator: Dark Fates. Recently, though, he regretted helping to direct the last Terminator for Your Grandpa.
- The first Terminator was released in 1984 with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Bean in the roles. The film led the U.S. box office for two weeks, eventually grossing $78.3 million, which predetermined the making of the most successful and iconic second instalment.
- In 1991, the director launched Terminator: Judgment Day, better known to us as Terminator 2, which had already earned $519 million worldwide, earning three Academy Award nominations and winning two.
The second Terminator is considered one of the best movies ever made and is still popular even with people born after its release. Since then, however, the magic of the picture has never been recreated – the later films were considered failures in one way or another.
If the discussions about the Terminator reboot prove fruitful and Cameron returns to filming, a story emphasizing the AI theme can hit modern audiences. But, on the other hand, the fate of all subsequent parts and offshoots of Terminator is skeptical – too many problems had to be pointed out before.