Movies
Say Hasta La Vista to the ‘Terminator’ Franchise?
I think the report below is a bit hyperbolic, but according to NY Daily News, Paramount Pictures has killed The Terminator.
The site explains that Paramount execs have decided not to pick up their option to bring Arnold Schwarzenegger and “Game of Thrones’” Emilia Clarke back for additional movies in the series.
The move comes in spite of the fact that the fifth Terminator movie — 2015’s widely panned Terminator Genisys — raked in almost $300 million in profits.
“It is over for ‘The Terminator’ and Arnold,” said their Los Angeles-based source. “The studio has taken the sequel off the production slate completely, meaning there is no preproduction or any plans for another sequel. The talent had been offered long term deals, but this is not happening.
“The ‘Genisys’ movie was seen as a way of reviving (the franchise), but the critics were not happy and somehow the studio bosses fell out of love with making more, even though they made huge profits,” we’re told.
The reason this feels like hyperbole is because Paramount is simply a distributor, and may have also been frightened off by recent reports that franchise creator James Cameron is on the cusp on regaining his rights. This would mean that Paramount would have needed the next film in production by the end of this year to avoid potential legal battles in 2019. The confidence is already low on the franchise, and with Paramount allegedly in a crisis from the top on down (Michael De Luca recently turned down top vice-chairman role), it’s unclear what direction the studio will take. With the failure of Rings and the shutting down of Friday the 13th, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that we know nothing about.
The question remains, however, as to how Cameron could revive the franchise on his own when he’s focused on his unnecessary and long-gestured and even longer delayed Avatar sequels. Could he find an international and independent backer to get another film in the franchise financed? Sure. And with China throwing money all over Hollywood, I could even see that as an option.
It’s probably best that Paramount isn’t behind the next Terminator film because, let’s be honest, they’re all uninspired at this point. Knowing the franchise is dead is probably better than suffering through another disappointment. I’d rather wait and see what Cameron can pull off once he’s finished shooting his Avatar films.
What do you guys think? Will the Terminator be back?
Movies
’28 Years Later’ – Ralph Fiennes, Jodie Comer, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson Join Long Awaited Sequel
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland (Annihilation, Men), the director and writer behind 2002’s hit horror film 28 Days Later, are reteaming for the long-awaited sequel, 28 Years Later. THR reports that the sequel has cast Jodie Comer (Alone in the Dark, “Killing Eve”), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter), and Ralph Fiennes (The Menu).
The plan is for Garland to write 28 Years Later and Boyle to direct, with Garland also planning on writing at least one more sequel to the franchise – director Nia DaCosta is currently in talks to helm the second installment.
No word on plot details as of this time, or who Comer, Taylor-Johnson, and Fiennes may play.
28 Days Later received a follow up in 2007 with 28 Weeks Later, which was executive produced by Boyle and Garland but directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. Now, the pair hope to launch a new trilogy with 28 Years Later. The plan is for Garland to write all three entries, with Boyle helming the first installment.
Boyle and Garland will also produce alongside original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice, the former head of Fox Searchlight Pictures, the division of one-time studio Twentieth Century Fox that originally backed the British-made movie and its sequel.
The original film starred Cillian Murphy “as a man who wakes up from a coma after a bicycle accident to find England now a desolate, post-apocalyptic collapse, thanks to a virus that turned its victims into raging killers. The man then navigates the landscape, meeting a survivor played by Naomie Harris and a maniacal army major, played by Christopher Eccleston.”
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) is on board as executive producer, though the actor isn’t set to appear in the film…yet.
Talks of a third installment in the franchise have been coming and going for the last several years now – at one point, it was going to be titled 28 Months Later – but it looks like this one is finally getting off the ground here in 2024 thanks to this casting news. Stay tuned for more updates soon!
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