Arnold Schwarzenegger is Done with The TERMINATOR Franchise, But We Can Still Expect More Movies

Arnold Schwarzenegger is finally ready to move on from The Terminator franchise. We will never see the actor back in the role of the T-800, and that’s ok. This franchise played a huge role in launching Schwarzenegger’s career and he had a great run with it!

During an interview with THR, Schwarzenegger was asked about the future of the Terminator franchise and while he teases more films are coming, he will not be back. He even says someone has come up with a great idea to continue the franchise:

"The franchise is not done. I'm done. I got the message loud and clear that the world wants to move on with a different theme when it comes to The Terminator. Someone has to come up with a great idea. The Terminator was largely responsible for my success, so I always would look at it very fondly." 

He went on to share his thoughts on the Terminator films, saying:

"The first three movies were great. Number four [Salvation] I was not in because I was governor. Then five [Genisys] and six [Dark Fate] didn't close the deal as far as I'm concerned. We knew that ahead of time because they were just not well written."

James Cameron previously revealed that discussions were underway about him continuing the sci-fi action franchise. He said: “If I were to do another Terminator film and maybe try to launch that franchise again, which is in discussion, but nothing has been decided, I would make it much more about the AI side of it than bad robots gone crazy.”

He also expanded on what future sequels would entail, saying:

“I feel like one of my major motivations on this film or coming back to the, hopefully franchise, was to explore the human relationship with artificial intelligence. I don't feel we did that in Dark Fate. I feel that we set the stage or we set the table for that exploration, and that exploration would take place in a second film and a third film. And we know exactly where we're going to take that idea. What we wanted to get in the first movie was this idea that it's just going to keep happening. The names will change, but the basic conflict is going to continue to take place until it gets resolved one way or the other.”

It makes perfect sense for the next film in the franchise to put a focus on AI because right now, that is the hot topic of conversation. If this franchise has any chance of surviving, Cameron needs to be involved heavily in the creative process, which wasn’t the case with the last two films.

What are your thoughts on Schwarzenegger being done with The Terminator? What would you like to see from the franchise as it continues?