He has survived being crushed in a hydraulic press and plunged into a vat of molten steel, so perhaps it be no surprise that news of the demise of the Terminator may have proved premature.
Reports emerged over the weekend that Paramount has shelved plans for a sixth film in the sci-fi series, casting doubt on the future of the franchise.
However, David Ellison, the CEO of Skydance Media, which produced Terminator Genisys, the most recent instalment, has said the Terminator has “an incredibly bright future” and that an announcement regarding the series is due later this year.
“I will say we have resolved the future of the franchise and, believe me, it’s an incredibly bright future,” Ellison told Collider. “I think where it’s going will be the continuation of what the fans really wanted since T2 [Terminator 2: Judgment Day].
“We have something this year that we will be announcing for the franchise. It’s something we’re incredibly excited about and we think is the direction it needs to head.”
It is unclear whether this new direction will involve Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to reports, Paramount had decided not to pick up an option to retain the actor, as well as his Genisys co-star Emilia Clarke, for future films.
Terminator Genisys received scathing reviews when it was released in 2015, with the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw describing the film as “a cynical franchisebot, machine-tooled to clank into cinemas and gouge money out of people”.
