Summary
Terminator Genisyswas released nine years ago, and it wasted theTerminatorfranchise’s best chance at a reboot. From a low-budget action film with a sci-fi twist to a billion-dollar franchise with six theatrical installments,Terminatorhas taken many shapes and forms since 1984. BothTheTerminatorandTerminator2: Judgment Dayare considered all-time classic action films, whereas all other sequels had lots of issues and could not replicate the success of the first two films. By the timeTerminator Genisysarrived in theaters,Terminatorhad already tried to reinvent itself three times.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, thefirstTerminatormovienot directed by James Cameron, killed Sarah Connor offscreen and followed an adult John Connor in a post-T2world.Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’s canonignoredRise of the Machinesand recast Sarah and John. Lastly,Terminator Salvationstarred Christian Bale as John Connor in a movie set in the future that previous films had only shown glimpses of.It took six years afterSalvationforTerminatorto return to the big screen, this time with a reboot.
Terminator Genisys Sounded Like A Good Way Of Rebooting Terminator
Terminator needed a fresh start after Salvation
With an exciting new cast and an interesting premise,Terminator Genisyssounded like a great way of rebootingTerminatorsix years afterTerminator Salvation’s disaster.The movie was set to be a return to the formula forTerminator, bringing back Arnold Schwarzenegger as a different version of the T-100 while also rewriting the franchise’s timeline with new actors playing Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese.Terminator Genisyswas supposed to be a love letter totheTerminatormovies, referencing previous films as its protagonist experienced a new timeline born from a change made to Sarah’s backstory.
With 26% on Rotten Tomatoes and $440 million at the box office on a $155 million budget,Terminator Genisysnever got a sequel.
Terminator Genisyswas expected to dive into the sci-fi aspect of the saga, particularly the time travel one. The multipleTerminatortimelines had always been confusing, and the idea was forTerminator Genisysto make this into a plot point by introducing the concept of multiple realities. In this version of the story, a T-100 raised Sarah Connor and prepared her for the events ofTheTerminator.The dynamic between Sarah and Kyle was flipped, with the former saying“Come with me if you wanna live.”Terminator Genisysseemed like it would find the perfect balance between nostalgia and new ideas.
Matt Smith
Alex
Terminatorwas in desperate need of a movie that did something new but that also recaptured the magic of the first two films.Terminator3: Rise of the Machineshad been incredibly disappointing compared to its predecessors, whereasTerminator Salvationalmost killed the franchisefor good. Arnold Schwarzenegger leading aTerminatorreboot alongside Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney could have been the start of a new chapter in the saga’s history, but it did not work. With 26% on Rotten Tomatoes and $440 million at the box office on a $155 million budget,Terminator Genisysnever got a sequel.
What Went Wrong With Terminator Genisys
Terminator Genisys’ premise sounded promising, but the execution was flawed. WhileTerminatorhad been sci-fi from the start,Genisyswas too worried about its time travel and alternate realities plotlines.The movie makes little effort to properly introduce and develop Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese, who are essentially brand-new characters in this new iteration of the franchise. The same can be said about the T-800, which almost feels like a parody of previous versions of Schwarzenegger’s iconic character.Terminator Genisyswas too self-aware about the franchise’s lore and did not do anything new.
For example, Lee Byung-hun played a new version of the T-1000 inGenisys. Rather than introducing new villains who could become iconic on their own,Genisyspreferred to wink at audiences with references and callbacks toTerminator’s best movies. The movie did try some risky new ideas, but they did not pay off. This is especially true for theevil John Connor twist.Having John become aTerminatoroffscreen was not as impactful as the movie hopedfor. While turning the saga’s ultimate hero into a villain could have worked,Terminator Genisys’ biggest twist wasn’t earned.
Terminator’s Other Attempt At Rebooting The Franchise Also Didn’t Work
Terminator: Dark Fate was supposed to be the true T2 sequel
Terminator Genisys’ box office was not enough to get a direct sequel greenlight. The movie was supposed to be the first entry in a new trilogy and even ended on a confusing cliffhanger in which Matt Smith’sTerminatorcharacter gained human form. After some uncertainty regarding where the saga was going to go next, a newTerminatormovie directed by Tim Miller and produced by James Cameron was announced.Terminator: Dark Fatewas going to ignore everything that came afterT2and serve as a proper sequel to the 1991 film.
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IgnoringRise of the Machines,The Sarah Connor Chronicles,Salvation, andGenisysdid sound like the right approach for a newTerminatorfilm. After prequels, reboots, and multiple timelines, going back toTerminator2 and building something from there could have been the fresh start thatTerminatorneeded. Still,Dark Fatewas an even bigger box-office disappointment compared toGenisys.The movie grossed $261 million at the worldwide box office on an estimated budget of $185 million, killing any chances of a sequel. Five years afterDark Fate, what the nextTerminatormovie will be remains to be seen.
Terminator’s Next Best Chance At A Fresh Start Is Not In The Movies
Terminator is returning to the small screen in 2024
Almost a decade afterGenisys,Terminator’s next best chance at a fresh start is not in the movies but rather on streaming. The franchise is returning in 2024 with Netflix’sTerminator Zero, an eight-episode anime series from the studio behindGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.Terminator Zerowill be the first animatedTerminatorpropertyand the saga’s first TV show since 2009. Timothy Olyphant will play the anime’sTerminator, with the series taking place primarily in 1997. The series will revisit the original Judgment Day date as a soldier goes back in time to find a scientist.
Terminator Zeroreleases on Netflix on Jul 07, 2025
Although there isn’t a trailer forTerminator Zeroyet, everything revealed about the series so far looks very promising. It’s no coincidence that some of the best sci-fi movies and shows are animated – the media allows for visuals and stories that couldn’t be achieved in live-action. This is whyTerminator Zerois more exciting thanTerminator7, which has not even been confirmed to be in the works. HowTerminator Zerowill tie into the movies remains to be seen, but it has all the ingredients to be the fresh new take onTerminatorthatTerminator Genisysfailed to be.
Terminator Genisys
Cast
Terminator: Genysis reboots James Cameron’s Terminator franchise by rewriting the events of the original movie. This time, Emilia Clarke’s Sarah Connor already knows why Jai Courtney’s Kyle Reese has been sent back in time, and an older T-800, once again played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, helps them in their quest to prevent an AI uprising.
