Skip to main content

The future will be written: Writers found for next Terminator movie

The Terminator
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When James Cameron’s The Terminator hit theaters in 1984, it was an immediate hit. The film helped to launch Arnold Schwarzenegger to stratospheric levels of movie stardom and also launched a franchise which included one really excellent sequel, then two other movies that most fans of the franchise would likely rather forget. Still, though 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and 2009’s Terminator Salvation may not have been the sequels people had hoped for, they still made tons of cash and as a result the Terminator franchise will continue to live on in Hollywood.

This morning we received the first concrete word on what direction the next Terminator film might take. According to Deadline Hollywood, two writers have been assigned the task of writing a script for the next, currently unnamed Terminator sequel. Patrick Lussier is best known for his work as an editor, with such films as Scream and the 2009 My Bloody Valentine remake among his credits. He has served as a writer on films like Dracula 2000 and Drive Angry, though his overall experience in writing Hollywood scripts seems both limited and largely unrelated to his newest assignment.

By contrast, the other writer tapped for the next Terminator movie is Laeta Kalogridis. She had a hand in writing the screenplays for both Scorcese’s Shutter Island and James Cameron’s eternally-in-production Battle Angel (a live-action/CGI movie based on the Battle Angel Alita manga series). Kalogridis is described by Deadline as “tight” with Cameron, and should thus be seen as the most intriguing addition to the crew of the inevitable Terminator sequel, at least as far as fans of the first two films are concerned.

As to what this would-be Terminator 5 might be about, we’re still in the dark. We’d expect a cameo from Schwarzenegger now that he’s left the world of politics and returned to film, though at age 65 we wonder if he’s able to contribute anything to the film outside of a winking reference to its predecessors. Further, we’d like to think this new Terminator film will finally depict the raging, futurisitic man-versus-machine conflict hinted at in the first two Terminator films, but properly filming such a thing would likely be very expensive. In the end, we just don’t know enough about this movie to properly speculate on what direction it might take. At least not until producers Skydance Productions and Annapurna Pictures opt to let us in on who they’ve selected to direct the film. We’ll bring you more on this movie as it emerges.

Earnest Cavalli
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Earnest Cavalli has been writing about games, tech and digital culture since 2005 for outlets including Wired, Joystiq…
PlayStation Plus’ most notable free April offerings come from Microsoft
Four players stand together in the 4v4 PvP mode of Minecraft Legends.

Sony outlined all the new offerings PlayStation Plus Essential subscribers can expect in April; surprisingly, Microsoft is the company behind two of this month's four offerings, Minecraft Legends, and the Overwatch 2 Mega Bundle.

On April 2, PS Plus can get those two things free of charge in addition to Immortals of Aveum and Skul: The Hero Slayer. Immortals of Aveum is a single-player shooter where players use magic instead of weapons. Although the thing it's most notable for is flopping upon its release, Immortals of Aveum is still a solid shooter that you might have missed out on, and you should give it a shot now that you can get it through PS Plus. Meanwhile, Skul: The Hero Slayer is a tough 2D platformer roguelike that should entertain fans of that genre for quite some time.

Read more
These are the 10 best gaming PCs I’d recommend to anyone
Graphics card in the CLX Hathor PC.

We review dozens of gaming PCs each year. In 2024, there are a ton of great options, but we've narrowed down a list of the 10 best gaming desktops that deserve your hard-earned money.

In 2024, we still recommend the Alienware Aurora R16 due to its fantastic design, solid performance, and decent value. However, there are several other options depending on your needs and budget. If you want a deeper look into how we evaluate gaming PCs, make sure to read our post on how we review desktops.

Read more
Mecha Break’s robot customization shakes up the battle royale formula
Mecha Break robot head with glowing blue eyes

Mecha Break isn't the kind of multiplayer game you can master right away.

You might equip a lance that you barely know how to use because it seemed like a good idea, and spend the rest of a round attempting to bash yourself into enemies to help your teammates. It incorporates action that's more similar to that of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon than it is to the shooter-focused gameplay in Gundam Evolution, Bandai Namco's multiplayer mecha shooter that shut down last year. Overwatch does come to mind, but in a way where mechs are still the focus rather than the pilots within them.

Read more