A few days back we heard that hedge-fund shingle Pacificor - not Sony or Lionsgate, who had also put in bids - had won the rights to the auctioned-off ''Terminator'' film rights. (And later, it was announced Sony and Lionsgate would likely be bought in by the tyro film crowd to help steer the next Terminator film to picture theaters - since they knew more about the business than Pacificor).
There's
going to be a new ''Terminator'' film - That we know. But what will it be? Will it be a sequel to Terminator Salvation? A remake of the original? A spin-off fixing on Kate Brewster's fetus... In 3D?
... Or might it be the first in a new two-parter from (uncredited) ''Terminator'' and ''Terminator 2'' co-writer William Wisher, that brings back original Jimbo Cameron creations, the T-800 and Sarah Connor!?
According to Deadline, Wisher has written a detailed 24-page treatment for a ''Terminator 5'' and a smaller summary of a ''Terminator 6''. Both films would take into consideration the events of the ill-fated "Terminator 3
: Rise of the Machines" and last year's disappointing "Terminator Salvation", but by-and-large, they'd stand on their own.
Says Mike Fleming, "Wisher’s 2-picture construct takes place in a post-apocalyptic battleground, and factors in an element of time travel that allows for Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese to interact beyond their single fateful meeting when he traveled back in time to protect her in the original film. Wisher has created a role for Arnold Schwarzenegger
that is as surprising as his shift from villain in the first film, to John Connor’s bodyguard in the second. Schwarzenegger wouldn’t be needed until the final film, which wouldn’t shoot until after he ends his term as California Governor."
(I can only assume Schwarznegger would be playing the chap who lent his likeness to the original Terminator mould - but here's hoping this is forgotten, hey?. It makes sense that Schwarzenegger not play the Terminator, but the man behind the Terminator. And, based on those reviews of The Expendables, it's likely going to be the only part 'grandpa' Schwarzenegger - who, they say, is a mere shadow of his former muscular self - is going to be able to play. Arrive naked in a bubble? Nup, can't see it. Shoot some exposition across the room to Sarah Connor, in a lab coat? Yep, that he can do.)
Villain-wise, Wisher has created "a swarm of “Night Crawlers,” 4 1/2-foot tall border sentries that are set like mines to spring up out of the ground and ambush rebel fighters with 10 MM pistols built into their wrists, and fingers and feet that are razor sharp. Also fresh off the Skynet assembly line are new shape-shifting cyborgs that can morph together in Transformers-like mode, and are more lethal than anything we’ve seen in previous Terminator installments."
McG had been mapping out sequels to his "Terminator Salvation" - the first of which was said to see John Connor traveling back in time to modern-day London; a cameo for Robert Patrick - playing the genius behind the T-1000 droid - was also discussed. It's anyone's guess whether Pacificor/Sony/Lionsgate will retain the filmmaker's services for the next pic.
