(This is a re-edit of an early article. The original is available here.)

The emergence of AI and advancements in robotics have made the Terminator franchise very relevant. Whenever people talk about an AI apocalypse, they usually reference Skynet: the franchise’s rogue supercomputer that tries to destroy humanity and starts using time travel to prevent the birth of humanity’s saviour, John Connor.

Despite this newfound relevance, the Terminator franchise is not in good shape. There have been a lot of bad films, and audience interest is subsequently weak. James Cameron is reportedly working on a new script, but it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about it. But the franchise does still have potential and could be reinvigorated.

The Fall of the Terminator Franchise

The Terminator franchise has completely broken down. The original James Cameron films, Terminator 1 and 2, are amazing. The next two films have all the markings of a studio mandate. But while they’re not great, they are logical continuations of the story.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines depicts the outbreak of the war and, well, the rise of the machines (nailed that title). Terminator 4: Salvation features the war’s early years and John Connor’s rise to leadership. I assume its unmade sequels would have gradually evolved into the future war aesthetic of the original films (complete with phased Plasma Rifles in the 40-watt range). Then Genisys happened.

I have no idea what they were thinking with Genisys. The first couple of minutes are actually quite enjoyable, but it quickly deteriorates. The film defies all logic. But this isn’t about Genisys, so I’ll stop there. It’s bad, is the point.

After that, James Cameron regained a few rights and promptly announced another film. Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger returned, and Tim Miller was to direct. Terminator: Dark Fate came out, and it’s fine. That’s all that can be said. It’s not bad, but it’s not particularly good. It was, ultimately, a disappointing remake of the original film.

Make a Future War Prequel.

Still, watching Dark Fate got me thinking: if I could make a Terminator film, what would I do? Is there a way to reinject some life into this series? James Cameron’s in-progress script would suggest he thinks so.

In general, though, I don’t particularly want to see another remake of Terminator 1 or 2. I’d rather see a film set in the future war between humanity and the machines. One with the original aesthetic rather than the Salvation look.

A future war movie is something I think a lot of Terminator fans would want to see, and that’s what I’m going to pitch here. But future war is ultimately just a setting. It still needs to have a good story, one which leans into the nightmare scenarios of AI.

The following occurs to me. First, Terminator 2 is the end of the story. In that film, they prevent the machines from ever being created, thereby averting the war. There’s even a deleted scene where, in an alternative future, John Connor becomes a senator. Any film set after Terminator 2 will subsequently feel unnecessary. It’s probably not impossible to make a good sequel, but it is difficult (evidenced by the many terrible sequels). Instead, the next Terminator film should be a prequel.

The original film’s use of time travel does mean this prequel could still be set in the future. Admittedly, this does arguably make it a sequel. My point here is more that it shouldn’t attempt to carry on the story of Terminator 2. That film was about changing the future, prohibiting sequels. Framing this film as a prequel will allow it to sidestep the resulting and awkward time travel discussions about ‘inevitable destiny’, which every film since Terminator 2 has included.

Second, the film shouldn’t be described as a Terminator film. It should just be called Future War or something. This does feel a little disrespectful to the franchise, I admit, but after Terminator: Dark Fate, I’m not sure there’s much audience faith in the Terminator brand. Moreover, I’m not convinced it should have many conventional Terminators in it.

The Terminator robots are infiltration units, used for assassination and espionage, sneaking into human bases. For battles, Skynet usually relies on gigantic Hunter-Killer (HK) drones and robotic tanks. As I understand it, Skynet only started deploying Terminators on the battlefield, as in the T2 flash forward, near the end of the war. When it had nothing left. Regardless, a Future War prequel film should primarily feature HK drones, saving the actual Terminators for more specific moments. More on that in a second.

But the film shouldn’t limit itself to Terminators and HK drones. It could have all kinds of robotic monstrosities. Literally. It should have robot monsters. There could be robots designed to look like wreckage, which unsuspecting survivors try to hide in. There could be hoards of robot spiders that swarm through underground tunnels. You could even have machines that exist to psychologically taunt and terrify people. There are loads of horrifying machines you could create and include, not just Terminators and HKs. That brings me to my main thought.

Most of the Terminator films are action movies, but the first Terminator was more like a horror film slasher. In Aliens, James Cameron reframed a horror movie as a war movie. A ‘Future War’ prequel should do the opposite. It should turn an action movie/war movie back into a horror movie. To that end, it should have an entirely new cast of characters. That way, no one will have plot armour.

The film should have a relatively straightforward story. For instance, it could feature a group of humans who escape from a Skynet research facility. Perhaps they hear about a secret human sanctuary and are trying to reach it, making their way across the wasteland as robotic monsters hunt them down, picking them off one by one.

The regular Terminators could be saved for the finale act. When only one or two human characters are still alive, they could encounter the (creepy-sounding) rubber-skinned T-600 Terminator. I’m imagining a silhouette lumbering towards them through a dark fog, which they initially mistake for a human. Only to realise, when it’s too late, that it’s another machine. Instigating a final terrifying struggle to escape, reminiscent of the original film’s factory scene.

John Connor

As for John Connor, if he appears, it should be right at the end. The problem with John, I think, is that his legend makes him too big for a starring role. You can show him as a kid, before he becomes humanity’s saviour, and you can show brief glimpses of him. But you can never focus on his exploits without diminishing the legend. No on-screen depiction of adult John can live up to the way he’s described and talked about.

Terminator 3 and 4 (and Genisys to a lesser and weirder extent) depict him as an action hero who uses his foreknowledge of the future to ‘cheat’. Again, that diminishes him. The ‘cheating’ idea is also a little contrived. Did the time travellers describe every detail of the war to him? I imagine adult John as a calculating, but inspiring, strategic genius. But that’s just my head canon. The point is, keeping John as a constant but unseen presence, with only occasional cameos, preserves the legend. It lets the audience imagine someone more awesome than the film could depict.

Limiting John Connor’s appearance also serves the horror movie approach. If it’s a prequel, John will have plot armour; the audience will know he survives. Hence, it should be new characters, with no plot armour. That said, the film could end with a brief cameo of John Connor. It shouldn’t be hyped up Marvel style, though. If it happened at all, it should be lowkey. He could be questioning the surviving characters about the research facility, and the defences he can expect. They should show no more than that.

– Dexter.