Come July, Terminator 2: Judgment Day will celebrate its 28th anniversary, and in all that time, the series has yet to yield another another installment that most of us can agree was particularly worth watching. And yet, while many fans are approaching the next Terminator film with maximum skepticism, the involvement of James Cameron as producer makes for one encouraging factor that the last few sequels didn’t have going for them.
What’s more, in a recent interview with The Arnold Fans, Arnold Schwarzenegger claimed that Cameron is taking a very hands-on approach with the project, working closely with Deadpool helmsman Tim Miller to ensure that the film is in line with his vision for the series.
“It was a very interesting film to do with Tim, the dynamic, between him and with Jim Cameron producing. So Jim Cameron is right now directing Avatar films so he’s taken on this enormous challenge and he’s very busy with that BUT he’s a control freak and as you know, Terminator is kind of his baby so he does get involved in the filming so there were interesting discussions about which direction to go with a certain scene or how the dialogue should finish or what the certain look should be of an individual and all that stuff so there was a big collaboration between Jim and Tim Miller. I feel it was in good hands with both of them.”
Schwarzenegger went on to discuss the budget of the film, before remarking that he’s seen 15 minutes of footage, and it’s so far turning out very well.
“The budget was somewhere between 160 million and 200 million dollars. I couldn’t tell you exactly because the movie isn’t finished yet. It’s still being worked on. Visual effects are being done now. I’ve seen 15 minutes and it looked great and I was very excited about it.”
Since filming wrapped last November, we’ve yet to see any finished footage from the movie, though we have witnessed a little behind-the-scenes content, including Schwarzenegger in the role of the original human who served as the basis for the T-800’s design. Cameron also revealed last month that the movie is going under the working title of “Terminator: Dark Fate,” though it remains to be seen if this will still be the name come November.
Cameron and Schwarzenegger aren’t the only returning players from the franchise’s glory years though, with Linda Hamilton also reprising her role as Sarah Connor. As for newcomers, Mackenzie Davis will be making her series debut as a soldier-assassin named Grace, while Gabriel Luna is said to be playing a new type of Terminator. It certainly looks like the team is trying to recapture the magic of the first two movies, and we’ll find out if they can pull it off when the film hits theaters on November 1st, 2019.