Well this was unexpected. It’s just been announced a new Terminator television series is being developed, a series which will tie-in to the upcoming reboot trilogy. They’ve got Thor and X-Men: First Class writers along for the ride but the premise has us both slightly worried and hopeful.
Last we heard on the Terminator front was a short-list of actresses up for the role of Sarah Connor in the film reboot. Originally, Emilia Clarke, Brie Larson, and Margot Robbie’s names were floated, then Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany. Though more recent reports have it down to just Clarke and Larson now. Director Alan Taylor, of Game of Thrones and Thor: The Dark World fame, is helming at least the first film in this new trilogy.
The Hollywood Reporter now say producers have hired, “writers Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller to write and executive produce a new Terminator television series that will be in conjunction with the rebooted feature. Skydance and Annapurna have combined the forces of the creative teams behind both the film and TV series for the new project.”
What exactly does that mean for the series and films? We’re not quite sure, but here’s what THR says about the plot of the TV show:
The TV series will follow a critical moment from the first Terminator film (1984) and, where the film’s story goes one way, the upcoming series will take the same moment in a completely different direction. As the rebooted film trilogy and the new TV series progress, the two narratives will intersect with each other in surprising and dramatic ways.
What could this mean for either project? I think we can rule out Sarah Connor being terminated, right? I mean, they aren’t going to throw away both her and John in the process. What other critical moment is there in the film besides her survival? Her being impregnated by Kyle Reese. He could die before that happens, leaving her to find a different path to the future, or perhaps he doesn’t and she has a girl instead of a boy. That would be interesting for sure. Doubtful on that one, though. Perhaps Kyle will stay alive long enough for Sarah to have a child only to see her perish sometime after (by Terminator or not), leaving him to raise the child and perhaps intersect with his own timeline? Part of me is also wishing they just continue with the cliffhanger left by Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
My head is starting to hurt.
Bottom line, I hope they don’t cut out Sarah Connor from either of these. Though THR has some hopeful news on at least the film front in that regard, “[Arnold] Schwarzenegger will reprise his famed role in the new trilogy that is described as a time-spanning story that sees him tasked to protect Sarah Connor as she grows up.”
Stentz and Miller were also writers and producers for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which ran for two seasons on Fox. What are your thoughts on the news? Fingers crossed over here…
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Published: Dec 6, 2013 02:44 pm