I was just wondering what ideas you guys had on news ideas for a Terminator film. Say the franchise gets some new momentum after the sale, and they are looking for something as good as the first two movies. As I see it the movies go like this: T1: Classic sci-fi/horror setup, a chase film with a sci-fi plot. Very atmospheric, you could really feel the depressing, claustrophobic future looming out there. T2: An action movie with a sci-fi plot, recasting the first movie with more big picture ideas. More polished with the various themes clearer and interconnected. T3: Bland action movie with sci-fi elements, too goofy to be effective. Continuing the chase elements of the previous two movies with less threat to the main characters, a less effective villain, but a strong, unexpected ending. TS: Unfocused post-apocalyptic sci-fi. Part straight action, part trying to be a smarter picture with a half-assed "who is Marcus really?" plot. Overall a confused landscape with little message and a wholly illogical plot for the villain. What are some new approaches for the movie that would revitalize the franchise? When would it be set? Are the good guys on top only for John to unexpectedly start losing the war he was told he would win? Are the current slate of characters even involved? What kind of radical alternative approaches would serve this new movie best?
I think the only way to revive the Terminator franchise is to do a reboot. Like the Batman movies the third and fourth movies damaged the series. The story should be like T1 which was small and personal.
I'd hate to agree on a reboot, but...that might be needed the timline and continuity has become so contruvulted that nothing makes sense between the movies anymore, or even the series and the movies (like the current plans for part five...*sigh*). At the very least, they'd need to ignore the series, and parts three and four, but a total reboot might be good, depending on what they did with the story. Parts one and two were great because of the premise, and the fact there was hope for the future in some small sliver of a way, with part three...well, I liked Loken but Connor was a bitch in that movie. As for ideas...I don't know really, I probably would have either shown the war in part three, or if it was about the war starting, had it set in 1997 to show that despite their efforts, it still happened as Kyle and "Uncle Bob" said it would (with perhaps a twist that blowing up the building is what triggered the events or something, but then again maybe not). had that been part three, part four would have been a few years later, perhaps circa 2001 with the war all out starting as the fallouts have died down and people were coming out of the woodwork again, John Connor must find a way to band Humanity together for the coming threat, convincing them the worst is just ahead (These ideas are somewhat recent, initially, I'd have done something similar to the T2 trilogy books) Not certain what I'd do if it went beyond that, I'd have it so that by the end of part six, things had come to a full circle, the war is more or less won, Kyle and the Terminators have gone back in time to start the story all over again.
I'd do something along the lines of humanity winning the war, but in doing so, they somehow make the world an even worse place, so the humans send the Terminator to kill John Connor and the machines send Kyle Reese to protect him.
Since the entire existence of Skynet depends on time travel, I've always thought that the humans should target the person who invented - will invent - the time travel process and take them out. Without time travel, Skynet cannot exist, and thus a new, Skynet-free timeline will be created.
That is the ultimate paradox then. If successful in preventing the invention of time travel... How do they travel back to do so....?
I've said elsewhere and will say again here- I expect the next Terminator movie to be a remake of the original film, and brought out around 2014 for the 30th anniversary. Either that or Cameron will just 3D-ize T1 and T2 for the anniversary and there won't be another film
As an unabashed huge fan of T3, I say wait a few years, then reunite Stahl and Danes for a second T4. The tragedy of their relationship is, if they succeed in going back in time and preventing Judgment Day, their untouched-by-war selves might not meet again. Especially if (future) they have kids, they'll be fighting to erase their own children from history. That's heavy, Doc, and could generate some serious drama. I see one post-JD film (no need for more) in which they attack Skynet, send Reese back but prevent the T-1000 from going also. That way, their childhoods are pretty much clean. Will they get together? Learn from JK Rowling, and leave that part ambiguous.
Interesting because it was always Cameron's belief that Skynet itself developed time travel. He mentioned it on one of the behind the scenes documentaries on the Ultimate Edition DVD. Terminator 3's video game suggests that it is based on alien technology that CRS had in its possession (no I am not making that up). The Infiltrator novel series suggested human scientists loyal to Skynet developed the process.
The nice aspect to the reboot idea is that it can fit with the existing universe. One simply has to say the Terminator has been chasing the wrong John Connor all along- the original Sarah Connor wasn't in the phone book. What about the photo of Sarah? An intentional distraction to put the machines on the wrong path! And it worked! I want to see a John Connor that is tough and mean and cool and thus far that is not how he has been presented.
I'd do something where the guy is sent back to stop an event from happening, but ends up letting it happen. A new twist on the original concept is what I want. And no, a new twist does not mean a different type of terminator.
Personally, I'm done with time travel for this series. 'Salvation' has a good setting and the right idea, but the execution was flawed.
Yeah, no one watched the series. Salvation got heaps of hate dumped on it, addmitedly, some of it deserved (it really added almost nothing to the mythos). Baring Cameron revisiting the series (NOT GONNA HAPPEN) or aging Arnold returning...what could make it worthwhile to continue or even *gag* reboot?
To continue? An effort to retroactively prevent Judgment Day. To reboot, and discard the T1/2 continuity? Nothing!