It’s difficult to count the amount of rumours that began flying once former Governor of California, and ex-action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his plans to return to acting, but now, following on from the announcement of The Governator cartoon, Arnie has officially committed to starring in a new Terminator movie.
While re-entering The Terminator franchise may have been a somewhat predictable move, it’s nevertheless exciting for both Arnold, and fans of the franchise; who will be pleased to not only see Arnie returning to the franchise that saw him propelled into acting super-stardom, but get the series back on track, after a lacklustre last couple of films, and largely unpopular spin-off TV series.
So far there’s no screenwriter attached to the project; which at this time doesn’t even have a studio attached; as the agency giant CAA are currently attempt to sell the project that at this time consists of just a deal to develop a new movie with Schwarzeneger starring, and Robert Cort (Jumanji) producing.
Universal and partners Sony/Lionsgate are both expected to heavily compete for the rights to develop the new film; as Sony/Lionsgate lost out to Pacificor in the last round of bidding for the rights, and Universal have recently been rumoured to have been planning to develop a Terminator movie with Justin Lin (Fast Five) in the director’s chair, and a potential starring role for Fast’s Vin Diesel.
There’s no set purchase price for the deal, although it is reported to currently reside around the $36 million mark (including a $25 million upfront payment, but not including salaries for Schwarzenegger or Lin) and is expected to heavily rise once bidding commences on the time sensitive project.
Unlike some previous installments, time will play a big factor with whichever studio picks up the project, because thanks to a stipulation in copyright law, all North American rights to the franchise will revert back to the franchise creator (James Cameron) in 2018; meaning he could easily shut down any future plans to expand the series after then.
Between now and 2018 there should be plenty of time to get at least two Terminator movies made, and with their lucrative appeal it’d be hard to imagine a situation where at least one more won’t get made, the only questions are whether the fans want to see another Terminator film (as most believe the franchise went downhill after Cameron exited), and if we’ll see Arnie playing a wrinkly Terminator, or reverted to his former bodybuilding glorydays via similar CG effects used in Terminator Salvation, and Tron: Legacy (which successfully took Jeff Bridges back 20 years).
Matt Wheeldon.
Source: Deadline.
