A new Terminator trilogy planned?

While a fourth Terminator movie has been clanking through development for ages (T3 writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris have written a script), the franchise as a whole has been somewhat in limbo.

But now, like some gigantic Hunter-Killer sweeping in, a new company has bought out all the rights to produce future Terminator movies, as well as snapping up other deals for licensing (read: toys and games) and profits from such ventures as the likely Terminator TV series The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the pilot of which is getting good buzz at US network Fox.

Halcyon, a privately funded company has grabbed the reigns of the Terminator franchise from Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar, the men behind the series for years. And the new owners have revealed that they fully believe there’s life in the old movie dog yet, beyond the fourth film – including a possible new trilogy.

"The Terminator franchise represents by far the most popular and successful franchise not owned by a major studio," shadowy Halcyon chief Victor Kubicek told Variety. "We see this global franchise as a cornerstone of Halcyon's future business plans."

According to Halcyon, T4 will work as a Batman Begins-style reboot for the cyborg franchise, with John Connor in his early 30s starting to unite the fragments of humanity and starting the fight against the machines.

"With T3, we included many incidental details and plot points that, along with the main narrative, set the stage for an entirely new set of interrelated stories covering the future adventures of John Connor and the Terminators," T3 and now T4 executive producer Moritz Borman blabbed. "This new Terminator trilogy will build upon the already huge worldwide Terminator fan base."

So do you want more Terminator action? Get debating at the forums…