The rights to the Terminator franchise has finally reached a deal close with plans to make new movies, potential TV projects, video games, and merchandise. Originally, Justin Lin of Better Luck Tomorrow and Fast & Furious directing fame was part of the deal to direct Terminator 5 with Arnold Schwarzenegger on board to boot, but Lin had to drop the deal in a commitment scheduling conflict in his making of Fast & Furious 6, scheduled to be out Spring 2013. Now with the Terminator deal closed, people are wondering if Lin will still be set to direct Terminator 5? Although I watched and enjoyed Better Luck Tomorrow, I haven’t seen a single Fast & Furious movie, so I don’t really know Lin too well as a director, but I DO KNOW TERMINATOR. So Lin, if you do end up directing Terminator, here is a die hard fan’s wish list for Terminator 5.
1. Sarah Connor must be awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1wVR6Qab70
In the last two Terminator movies, there has been zero Sarah Connor action, which has left them feeling rather void and empty despite all the awesome cyborg and artillery action. Hey, I love all Terminator stuff, even when it’s not that great, but Sarah Connor was the reason I loved the Terminator franchise so much in the first place; I watched it over and over again as a child. I IDOLIZED her and still do. I know, everyone’s attached the image of Sarah Connor to Linda Hamilton, and rightfully so, so it’s pretty hard to replace her with somebody else, and Hamilton’s probably not game for 5, but really, Sarah Connor was the main character of the first Terminator and was the defining character in Terminator 2, and she did it with her guts and her guns, and by guns, I mean awesome cut muscular arms. If there’s any way to reincarnate her somehow, it’s worth it, it’s what the franchise is missing. Sarah Connor is the heart of Terminator. And for crying out loud, please, give her some serious muscles. Lena Headey did a nice job with Sarah Connor Chronicles, but she’s like a toothpick that looks like she’s going to snap at any minute. It’s gotta be believable when Sarah Connor hits a home run with a terminator skull.
2. Summer Glau makes an awesome terminator.
If there’s any female actor and character that has lived up to the Sarah Connor legacy, it would be Summer Glau as Cameron on the Sarah Connor Chronicles. It would have been nice if her body was a little more tone for the role, but since she’s got a titanium skeleton, it works out, and Glau is no toothpick. She also has a wonderful knack for switching flawlessly from graceful ballet dancing robot to neck-breaking robot. If there’s any actress and/or character that should be included in Terminator 5, Glau is indispensable.
3. Evolve Skynet.
I’d love to see an iteration of Skynet that moves beyond just base survival. Skynet has always just been a cold killing machine, identifying humans as the only threat to its existence and proceeding to systematically terminating that threat. But as the terminators themselves have evolved while being around humans, Skynet itself has not gotten past its base lower level fear reaction to humans. It would be quite a feat to be able to integrate this into the fifth movie in a way that works, and even if there was an attempt and failure to move beyond its primitive fight or flight response, that would still be something.
4. Robots. Lots of robots.
Okay, the ability of the Terminator robot to both charm and terrify us is the fact that it comes largely in humanoid form. However, it would be awesome to see more creative variety in the robots. There have always been nods to the other robots created by Cyberdyne and Skynet, such as flying Hunter Killers or the high speed Moto-Terminators. I’m thinking in terms of evolution of robot building, maybe exploring other body forms, or creating something that would be an improvement on the humanoid form. Maybe even something along the lines of creepy crawly. Aside from form difference, how about something that hasn’t been done yet, like a child terminator. We’ve had a male one, a female one, and even a teenage one. Terminators are supposed to be infiltration units, ninja robots in a manner of speaking, so wouldn’t a child terminator be excellent for that role? And creepy, in a Children of the Korn kind of way. I’m reminded of the killer baby in Pet Cemetery.
I do hope Justin Lin does end up as the director of Terminator 5, because I think he’s got a combination of the right sensibilities for it from what I do know about his directing, an ability to present high speed action while also being able to manage the dark psychology of characters. Despite my die hard fan wish list here, it’s not going to be hard to please me. Unless it’s utterly destroyed like The Last Airbender movie, I will pretty much love any Terminator media that comes out. I cannot wait until the new Terminator stuff comes out. I suddenly just realized that I’m wearing my Skynet t-shirt made with Google colors as I am writing this article. Destiny? No fate but what we make.
