James Cameron Says His New TERMINATOR Movie Will "Jettison All of the Specific Iconography"
Last year we learned that James Cameron was developing a new Terminator movie. At the time he said that the project is heavily inspired by AI, and before he made it, he wanted to see how things play out with AI in the real world.
Things are playing out really fast right now with AI technology, and Cameron is still in the process of delivering a story for his new film. In a recent interview, he offered an update on the project saying that he’s looking to throw out everything at this specific to the franchise that has come before.
Cameron told Empire: “This is the moment when you jettison everything that is specific to the last 40 years of Terminator, but you live by those principles.
“You get too inside it, and then you lose a new audience because the new audience care much less about that stuff than you think they do. That’s the danger, obviously, with Avatar as well, but I think we’ve proven that we have something for new audiences.”
Cameron went on to explain that while they are looking to changed things up drastically, the elements that make Terminator tick will still be there and it will “kick ass.”
He said: “You’ve got powerless main characters, essentially, fighting for their lives, who get no support from existing power structures, and have to circumvent them but somehow maintain a moral compass. And then you throw AI into the mix.
“Those principles are sound principles for storytelling today, right? So I have no doubt that subsequent Terminator films will not only be possible, but they’ll kick ass. But this is the moment where you jettison all the specific iconography.”
He went on to say,“It’s more than a plan. That’s what we’re doing. That’s all I’ll say for right now.”
That’s exciting, and I can’t wait to see what Cameron is planning. He previously 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.”
The filmmaker also shared his thoughts on AI: "Well, I'm not 'afraid' but I'm certainly pretty concerned about the potential for misuse of A.I. I think A.I. can be great, but also it could literally be the end of the world.
“You talk to all of the A.I. scientists — and I know a bunch of them — and every time I put my hand up at their seminars or something, they just start laughing. 'Oh, that's the Skynet Guy, sure, we really want to hear from you.'
“The point is that no technology has ever not been weaponized. And do we really want to be fighting something smarter than us that isn't us on our own world? I don't think so."
He went on to say that it’s possible the machines have already taken over: "Look, an A.I. could've taken over the world and already be manipulating it, and we just don't know because it would have control over all of the media and everything.
“And what better explanation for how absurd everything is right now. Because nothing makes a damn bit of sense to me, I don't know about you."
Are you ready for Cameron to make another Terminator movie?