Earlier this week we got the news that the Halloween franchise would be bringing back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode in the upcoming sequel - but it turns out that's not the only relaunching series that's set to bring back a classic heroine. It has been officially announced that Linda Hamilton has signed a deal to return as Sarah Conner in the new James Cameron-produced, Tim Miller-directed Terminator project, where she will be reuniting with Arnold Schwarzenegger for the first time in 25 years.
James Cameron himself made the announcement about the casting during a private function at Paramount, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and revealed that he very much wants to see more older women get the opportunity to star in the action films that their male co-stars sign on to. He told the crowd,
As meaningful as she was to gender and action stars everywhere back then, it's going to make a huge statement to have that seasoned warrior that she's become return. There are 50-year-old, 60-year-old guys out there killing bad guys, but there isn't an example of that for women.
Linda Hamilton last played Sarah Conner in T2: Judgement Day back in 1991 - but the character reached the end of her life before the start of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, where it's stated that she died. Hamilton was originally offered a role in Terminator 3, but she turned it down both because of problems with the script and because she felt that her arc in the franchise had been fully played out. Sarah Conner did return to the big screen in Alan Taylor's Terminator: Genisys, though she was played by Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke.
The new Terminator movie, which doesn't yet have an official title, is being helmed by Deadpool's Tim Miller, and is the first title in the franchise to have James Cameron's direct involvement since the early 1990s. A writer's room including David Goyer (Man of Steel), Charles Eglee (Dark Angel) and Josh Friedman (The Sarah Conner Chronicles) has developed the script based on a story idea hatched by Cameron, and there is a plan for the next film to be the first in a new trilogy - which was also said about Terminator: Genisys when it was first announced.
There are no story details currently available, though James Cameron has also said that the plan for the new film is to have Linda Hamilton's Sarah Conner and Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 "anchor" the story while a new cast of young new characters primarily drive the story. It's unclear when the movie is being planned for release, but it certainly sounds like the project is driving quickly through development. Be sure to stay tuned for more details, as they've been coming in fast!
