12 Ways James Cameron Can Save The Terminator Franchise
It's time for a change.
The Terminator franchise is the cinematic equivalent of a cockroach: no matter how many times it seems to be finally dead, it keeps getting resurrected, because Hollywood would rather rake over old successes than invent new ones.
Still, it was slightly encouraging to hear that the sixth Terminator movie, tentatively due for release on July 26, 2019, will be produced and overseen by series creator James Cameron himself, with Deadpool director Tim Miller set to helm.
While fans are right to be hugely sceptical about any future Terminator movie actually being remotely good, if Cameron is truly committed to the project (when he's not shooting the next dozen Avatar sequels, of course), he could help steer the franchise back to greener pastures.
If he's going to make it work, though, the legendary director needs to avoid prior pitfalls, because if he can't fix these basic, much-discussed issues, then the series is as beyond saving as many fans already believe it is...
12. Hire Proven Actors Over Rising Stars
One of the big problems with Terminator Genisys in particular was that Paramount cynically hired young, attractive on-the-rise stars rather than talented actors who were natural fits for the material.
For instance, Emilia Clarke was fundamentally wrong for the role of Sarah Connor in just about every way and gave a terrible performance as a result, while Jai Courtney playing Kyle Reese was merely the latest botched attempt by Hollywood to make him into a thing.
The next movie needs to see Cameron not merely casting "the next big thing" in the world of TV or film, and instead finding actors with proven track records who are well-suited to the material.
Will It Happen?: Cameron's filmography shows how great he is at casting, so if he's taking a hands-on approach with the film's roster, then yes, it's probably in safe hands.