When it comes to film franchises that peaked early, you won’t find much of a better example than the “Terminator” films.
James Cameron’s first two entries remain stone-cold cinematic classics, helping create the careers of its stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton and cementing Cameron as the blockbuster director everyone wants to emulate.
After that, though, the films started to spiral. The third film was not even close to the same league as the first two, but it was at least serviceable. ‘Salvation’ had significant issues, ‘Genisys’ was a war crime, and whilst ‘Dark Fate’ had its moments, it wasn’t the return to form we had hoped.
Out promoting his new action-comedy TV series “FUBAR,” actor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he believes the franchise will continue in the future, but it must do so without him. He tells THR quite bluntly what the franchise needs to do:
“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. 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.”
The franchise’s economic fate has slid with its creative fortunes, the most recent ‘Dark Fate’ racking up a financial loss of $122.6 million – making it one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time. ‘Genisys’ before it, though grossing surprisingly well, didn’t perform up to expectations which led to planned sequels and a spin-off TV series being cancelled.
