The franchise gained phenomenal success with The “Terminator” in 1984 and “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” in 1991. The next three movies did not do so well at the box office.
However, the spinoff television series “The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” did manage to keep audiences and fans happy. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a year. Cameron was only involved in the first two movies.
David Ellison, whose Skydance co-financed “Terminator Genisys,” is bankrolling an exploratory effort that includes engaging some top-flight science fiction authors to find the movie creatively.
Ellison still holds many “Terminator” rights, after his 2013 acquisition from sister and Annapurna principal Megan Ellison. She bought them in 2011 at Cannes for $20 million.
Audiences disagreed and the franchise seemed out of gas when the $155 million film grossed $440 million worldwide but didn’t do nearly well enough in the US.
Cameron may have foreshadowed his own future return to the franchise. Much the same way that Sony used to rush “Spider-Man” movies to stay ahead of a rights-reversion ticking clock, it was always known that Cameron would regain clout eventually.
It didn’t seem that Skydance or Paramount had much interest continuing the creative track of the last film, but real creative involvement by Cameron, even if he doesn’t direct, changes the whole ballgame.