Man, this was a busy week for Ask Me Anything conversations. Hollywood icon Harrison Ford opened up for a (somewhat) candid conversation that we playfully broke down here on CinemaBlend. And legendary blockbuster director James Cameron also took to Reddit to discuss his various projects, past and present.
You can skim through the complete conversation here. Cameron weighs in on the three Avatar movies he’s in the process of making (simultaneously, basically). He discusses Titanic and Prometheus. But his comments about the Terminator franchise really caught our eye. Obviously, Cameron launched the Terminator series with Arnold Schwarzenegger back in 1984. Thirty years ago. Let that soak in. The duo made a sequel, but Cameron moved on, even as Hollywood continued to explore his world in assorted sequels. And it turns out, Cameron didn’t care much for what directors like Jonathan Mostow and the auteur McG came up with. When asked about the Terminator franchise, Cameron candidly stated:
Well, I have to be objective, or as objective as possible about that. I’m not big fans of the films, I think that the big ideas of the first movies – I didn’t make the second film until I had an idea as big as the first film, and it had to do with the moral complexity of the story, and asking the audience by the end of the film to cry for a Terminator. I don’t think that the 3rd or 4th film lived up to that potential. Sarah Connor Chronicles, I never really watched much of it, so I never gave it a chance… to get hooked, like you have to with a TV series."
Which is interesting. Because Cameron’s not opposed to a sequel, by any stretch. I mean the dude is cranking out multiple Avatar films. His comments about waiting until you have a "big" idea are encouraging. He must have massive ideas for Pandora if he’s going back to that well for three additional dips.
Cameron does acknowledge the fifth Terminator movie, Terminator: Genesis, that is in the works, and says:
I’m hopeful that the new films, which are being made right now as a reboot, but still involving Arnold, will be good. From what I’ve seen from afar, it looks like they will be quite good."
He must have participation points. Don’t bad mouth potential profits! When it comes to working with his Terminator again, however, Cameron throws cold water on the Avatar rumors stating, "As of right now, [Arnold] and I have not discussed it, and I don’t see a role as the scripts are coming together that would be appropriate for him, so I would say probably not."
You know what would be magical? If Cameron could direct Arnold in one more Terminator movie. To bring the series to proper closure. The word on these new Terminator movies is that it’s setting up a fresh trilogy. Can they get Cameron out of Pandora long enough to possibly helm a future (and final) Terminator movie? We can always hope.
