Next summer, the 67-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger will once again return to his signature role of The Terminator in the awkwardly-titled reboot Terminator: Genisys, and franchise creator James Cameron has been speaking about the project during a chat with Deadline, explaining how the aged Arnie can be integrated into the plot of the film:
“I wasn’t interested in producing it or working on it actively, but I did want to put in a good word for Arnold,” stated Cameron, who directed both The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day. “I pointed out that the outer covering [of the Terminator] was actually not synthetic, that it was organic and therefore could age. You could theoretically have a Terminator that was sent back in time, missed his target, and ended up just kind of living on in society. Because he is a learning computer and has a brain as a central processor he could actually become more human as he went along without getting discovered.”
Asked for his thoughts on the reboot, Cameron responded that: “It’s not my problem, that’s the beauty of it. It’s like being a grandparent and the kids come over then you can send them back. I think the chain’s been broken by the films in between. When I walked away from it I had to do it with the sense that I can’t invest in this emotionally anymore. If it’s not good, it doesn’t really bother me personally.”
Directed by Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World), Terminator: Genisys sees Arnold Schwarzenegger joined by Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man), Courtney B. Vance (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Byung-hun Lee (G.I. Joe: Retaliation), Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games), Michael Gladis (Mad Men), Sandrine Holt (House of Cards) and Douglas Smith (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters). The film is set for release on July 1st 2015.
Originally published October 21, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
