Terminator: Dark Fate: 6 Things It MUST Do To Be A Good Sequel
Its future is not set.
Reboot, re-write, retcon? Does it even matter?
Sure, Terminator: Dark Fate comes attached with the promise of wiping clear the previous three sequels. But didn't the last Terminator resurgence, aka Genisys, promise the exact same thing? If so, what really is the handle of this new incarnation, if not another last-ditch attempt to revive a franchise which lost its magic over two and a half decades ago?
Well, that's the negative way of looking at it. But imagine the joy in our hearts if Dark Fate does somehow, and in some way, deliver a sequel worthy of T2: Judgement Day. The one advantage of it being movie number 6, is that it has a wealth of failed source-material to learn from, and two undisputed earlier classics from which to draw the finest elements.
Either way, looking at things from a mechanical point of view, failure is not an option. Unless Dark Fate rises like a phoenix, Hollywood can as good as tank the franchise for good. So here's what it should and should not do.
6. Pay Attention To What's Happening In Cinema Right Now
Cinema has changed, and to understate, the expectations have raised. Some conventions will never grow old, but now we have a great deal of content, political and social, which was a lot more sparse in '80s and '90s cinema. With James Cameron, a long-standing advocate of strong female leads, at the forefront of this new project, keeping up with the times should surely pose no challenge.
Take Captain Marvel as just one example. Besides its strong sense of femininity, an age-old Marvel comic convention of The Skrulls being arch-villains was flipped around in the movie, partly to keep viewers guessing, but to also pose the question; Is the big bad really the big bad?
So, is Skynet and the rise of machines still the true embodiment of evil? Is humanity still the all-noble entity proudly standing for their principles? A perspective on what some of the best sci-fi action films of today are doing and how to get a one-up on them will greatly benefit the creation of this film. Re-working narrative conventions is a gamble without doubt, but can make for a great play in the right hands.