Arnold Schwarzenegger is done with the Terminator franchise.
"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," Schwarzenegger told The Hollywood Reporter. "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," he added. "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."
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was directed by Jonathan Mostow after original director James Cameron dropped out, and made over $400 million at the global box office – giving Hollywood the go-ahead to continue the franchise. Arnie returned for Terminator: Genisys, another money maker, but Tim Miller's Terminator: Dark Fate ignored the events of 3, 4, and 5, and effectively killed the franchise as a half-baked direct sequel to Terminator 2.
Though the sixth installment brought back stars Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, it lost over $122.6 million at the box office and effectively canceled any plans for future Terminator films.
"If I were to do another ‘Terminator’ film and maybe try to launch that franchise again, which is in discussion, but nothing has been decided, I would make it much more about the AI side of it than bad robots gone crazy," Cameron revealed on the SmartLess podcast, hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett.
For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2023 and beyond.
