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McG Still Wants to Make 5th and 6th Terminator Movies

Posted on Sunday, December 6th, 2009 by Russ Fischer

worthington_and_mcg

The rights to the Terminator franchise are on the block, and the future of the film series is in doubt at the moment. But someone will end up holding the bag sooner or later (or a recapitalized Halcyon will retain them) and at that point another film will go into production. A fifth has been in development, though it hasn’t gone terribly far, given the financial instability of rights holder Halcyon.

Prior to release, Terminator: Salvation was said to be the first film in a new trilogy, and director McG had previously said he wanted to make the additional films. Last night, during the BD-Live commentary on Salvation, McG said he still plans to make those movies.

The only transcript of the chat I have right now is the liveblog done by a slightly beered-up Jason Chen at Gizmodo. There, amidst some healthy scorn for the technical difficulties encountered during the livecast, Chen has these notes:

7:13: He just announced that he’s making another Terminator movie. Seriously.

7:16: Oh and for those people who are punching themselves in the face that he’s making another one? He said he’s making one after that.

7:21: And now McG is being coy about making another one? I don’t get it.

7:24: And now he’s talking about a second or third movie again.

7:46: He says Sarah Connor is going to be in the next film, but he’s not sure how he’s going to pull that off.

Additionally, Chen recounts that McG says he only saw one episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles and that he ignored Terminator 3. He also expressed disappointment that he wasn’t able to make the best film in the series.

And just in case you think McG didn’t learn anything from Christian Bale, there’s this comment in response to a question about the “horrible Charlie’s Angels films”: “I really like those movies. If you don’t like them you can fuck off.”

Comments

mchops

There's a directors cut of salvation? How much longer is it?

r4i gold

I liked Salvation. I thought it was a good lead-in to what the remaining chapters will be. As well McG said he was going back to basics with T5 and T6. Time Travel, Terminators, etc.

Luke

Watching the extras on the BluRay... as a terminator fan you can't help but say Wow, here's a guy who gets it. Here's a guy who wants to see what I want to see. Hell! He even nodded the Guns'n'Roses song - who thought that'd happen!...

He definitely had a FEEL for it, and it's too bad because this movie looked and sounded exactly how I would promisingly imagine...

Now they've just got to find someone who doesn't leave the taste of the whole cookie to just the chocolate chips...

Rob

The one thing I will give McG a pass on is that when Christian Bale was approached to do the movie, he was originally offered the Marcus character but Bale wanted to be John Connor. Connor was supposed to be a very minor character in this movie, but Bale had a lot of rewrites done to beef up the role. A lot of the John Connor scenes do seem just tacked on and that is probably why.

Granted, who wants to watch a Terminator movie that isn't about John Connor? Worthington was arguably the best thing about the movie, but I think it is the actor, not the character.

Hopefully, they will get another director and he ignores both T3 AND T:Salvation. I want to see something more faithful to the first two movies and give us the John Connor who is struggling with the fact he is training his own father to be a warrior so he can go back in the past and die so John can be born. Of all the elements of the the potentials for a post Judgment Day Terminator, that is the aspect that can make another sequel rise above another crappy action/sci-fi movie to a classic action/sci-fi movie.

DwayneWayne

My two cents: I've actually enjoyed all of the Terminator films because each of them offers something different. The first one gave you a really great "predator stalks prey" story and the scene where Arnold pulls out his eye is one of the scariest scenes ever filmed. The second is a really, really great sci-fi/action film with a lot of heart...just to echo, probably one of the best action films of all time. The third one was just mindless fun to me...an opportunity to see the Terminator back in action. It, while being kinda stupid, had some really fun action sequences to me (the scene at the cemetary, the fight with the crane). And the 4th just granted me the opportunity to see the franchise evolve into something different with a couple of good action set pieces.

Overall, I feel like the franchise needs to be left alone. I mean, how many movies, TV shows, videogames do we need about robots from the future that want to wipe out humanity? Someone just needs to think of a new, original franchise so that my kids will have a chance to experience something as cool as T-2, or Jurassic Park, or the Matrix...just something.

Tyrant

The only way to get the Terminator franchise back on tracks is to bring Neill Blomkamp and revitalize this smelly pile of thrash. Either him, or James Cameron, aka God.

YoungZer0

I really liked the world of Salvation and the direction wasn't that bad. The script just sucked. Hard.

Seriously the post apocalyptic world of Salvation was fantastic, it should be the foundation for the next two movies, but if i remember correctly McG planned to go back to the past? Not interested. I thought this was the point of the new trilogy, showing the future, not the past.

freemachine

I kind of enjoyed Salvation, though probably because I expected it to royally suck. Let's face it, unless Cameron returns to write/direct another Terminator film, we should expect messy, sub par sequels and just get over it.

If someone should attempt another sequel, here's a basic plan that has a high probability of success. Make two films back to back. You could weave an intricate storyline involving simultaneous strikes on the machines occurring in the present, past and future, sort of with a checkmate conclusion that effectively ends the franchise by removing anymore remaining options for Skynet. (would take one hell of a talented writer to pull it off) With a total of 4 or 5 hours running time you're have a better shot at delivering an epic conclusion to the series with a storyline that lacks plot holes, removes loop holes, an allows us to better know and feel for the characters. If someone down the line tries to undo things in order to make a 7th film, so be it. At least we can be satisfied by a well-crafted Terminator film that has a proper ending.

Dangeresquetoo

Yea...I don't get why McG and Brett Rattner make bad movies and then respond with "If you don't like them then fuck off." You don't see Peyton Manning having a bad game and saying "If you don't like the way I played fuck off." I don't have a personal gripe with either guy, but I might start if they keep telling people to fuck off cause their movies sucked camel balls.

aspect

MCG= MCDICKHEAD

Guest

more like Mc Cheese cause his work stink

Jonny

Good one.

Jeff

T4 was a mixed bag. It absolutely oozes of good intentions. The casting was top notch. The production design, art direction, cinematography, etc. are all terrific. McG (with help from the 2nd unit) put together some really fantastic action sequences. Where it falls short is an obviously patchwork script, poor direction during the moments of emotional drama, Christian Bale never turning off CAPS LOCK, and an excruciatingly absurd ending that was completely unnecessary.

This movie currently has a 6.9 on IMDB. That's not that great, but it's a lot higher than the responses of the fanboys would lead you to believe. A lot of people seemed to like it, or at least thought it was decent.

What they ought to do for a sequel is make it darker, lower budget, and hand it over to somebody who is better suited to directing drama. It's a lot easier to get a great dramatic director to make an action film than it is to get an action director to learn how to direct good drama.

Just look at what happened when Warner Brothers had the balls to hand over the Batman series to a guy who had made a couple dramatically solid low budget psychological thrillers...

Kyle C.

Couldn't agree more Jeff. I thought that visually, Salvation was superb, shit I've watched it like 5 times on blu-ray already, but I'm a sucker for post-apocolyptic settings, shit I liked Resident Evil Extinction. The casting was good as well, except for Worthington, I still don't see why this guy is such a big deal right now, he has the exact same expression on his face all the time. What fucked Salvation was a script that made no sense. If machines are attracted to sound, why the hell is their an above ground military base with planes and helicopters and why don't the machines know it's there? Why does Conner go to Skynet alone when his whole team said they were with him no matter what? How the hell did he even get into Skynet alone? How did Skynet know who Kyle Reese was and why didn't they kill him or Connor when they had the chance. How the hell can you do a heart transplant in the middle of the desert without knowing if Worthington is a compatible doner.

I could go on all day but my point is yes, the look was cool and the action scenes were badass, but they need to get a filmmaker that knows how to tell a good story that makes sense and knows how to convey emotion and drama. McG is a visual guy, not a storyteller. Terminator is done, just let it go. I enjoyed it while it lasted, except for T3, man I hated that pile of shit. If they do make another, however, they need to to do what you said Jeff and make it darker(and R rated for fuck-sake), lower budget(I mean look what they did with Distict 9 for $30 mill), and more driven by confict and drama rather than action and spectacle. The Dark Knight is a perfect example of what can happen when a great filmmaker takes the reigns of a dying franchise.

JoseB

What ever happened to those extra 30 minutes that McG promised us? He also promised us a Rated R movie. McG just seems like the type of guy who just promises empty promises. I refuse to believe a word this man says anymore.

Ryan

There's the directors Cut but its only on Blu-ray.

bigdogg

if your talking about the director's cut, there is a 2 disc special edition on regular dvd that features the director's cut. i bought it & it made the movie much more enjoyable.

MickJ

Dream on McG.

Luke

A piece of me WISHES they had did the 2nd ending, for those who know what I'm talking about (not sure of /Film's policies here...then again based on the crowd, I don't think anyone cares about spoilers with this film lol)

A crap-tastic nail on a crap-tastic film, eh? Actually...i think the secondary ending might have made me happy after the 90 minutes. Anyone else agree?

Guest

I think McG kinda Fucked this whole trilogy idea up, by altering Salvation's storyline. They should've just stuck to that original, leaked script.

Broadway

I did not think that Salvation had enough Character development, however, I do not think it is as bad as some seem to feel it is. If you are a fan of the first film and you can pretty much ignore T2 and T3 then you can look at the starkness for what it is as many critics said it is a war film set in the future. I do think that the effects were too heavy handed and some interesting revelations would have been good. These days I find it almost impossible to find a film with a well written script. Thank you reality TV for getting rid of the TV writers which would have one day hopefully write for film.

JD

If it was a "war film" then it failed. If it was a "chase film" (as a Terminator film should be), then it failed. If it was a character-driven film, then it failed.

I'm sorry; it still pisses me off.

Browncoat1138

I'd rather they just stop and never make another one again unless Cameron comes back which we all know will never happen.

1 was great. 2 was a masterpiece. 3 was tolerable... if that... 4 was an embarrassment. I will say that the action was ok, but the CGI got really old and the fucking script was terrible. McG can't direct as seen by his hack of a resume. I was 100% aboard with Salvation when I saw Trailer 1 and 2. It was great. looked like it really captured the future war. No it just captured what McG always puts on screen. A loud pile of shit.

Joey Kelly

I'd rather see Uwe Boll's attempt at Terminator than allow McG get his hands on the franchise again.

drbenway

I think calling McG a "hack" might in fact be an insult to hacks. I always thought of a hack film as being rudimentarily functional if derivative.

But honestly, this guy is so out to lunch it's almost endearing, at this point.

mike rainey

Seriously. McG is a HACK. I pray to God he is not allowed to work on the franchise in future.

Manwich 9000

Whoops! I meant Connor.

Manwich 9000

I liked the movie. My only gripe is the fact that Skynet somehow knew that Kyle Reese was John Conner's father. I thought that no one knew that (except John and his wife). Other than that "slight" fudge up, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Ripper

I thought Salvation was decent. It wasn't as good as 1 or 2, but definitely better than the third Terminator movie. I will leave it to this, since I don't want any publicity, but I "into" film and thought he did a decent job...considering. I think the script could've been better, but the performances and directions was good.....and get rid of that McG name crap. He should use his real name to get some respectability.

JD

^ I think McG "liked" this comment 10 times.

tim

Mcg, why are you talking about doing a 5th and 6th movie...when your Salvation flick was so bad it made the 3rd movie look like Godfather 2? Mcg, I put your Salvation movie in the same category as Gigli.

Beer-o-drinker

Salvation is NOWHERE near on the same level of crapness as Gigli.

JD

Gigli was much better.

tim

JD shoots...he scores! Yes

sideshowRaheem

TS wasn't terrible the script was the main issue no the visuals or the direction. And lets not pretend all the movies in this franchise(including Terminator 2) didn't contradicted rules set up in the previous films.

mbellerbrock

Very good point, even T2 contradicted rules set up in T1.

mbellerbrock

I enjoyed Salvation, and refuse to jump on this bandwagon.

Slatters

If logic is considered a "bandwagon", then consider me on board.

Anni

I'm not gonna lie, I enjoyed it despite how obviously inane the whole plot was. I saw it after the backlash, though, so my expectations were low.

It had some fine robot action fun and some neat-looking futurescapes. It wasn't good, but it was still better than 3.

ilikeironmanbutcmon

I jumped on the bandwagon when I walked out of the theatre and said, wow that was horrible.

LoganR

I'd say that 90% of people on this site weren't even on this bandwagon to begin with. We all knew it was going to suck shit from conception.

mbellerbrock

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/05/22/the-buzz-te...

Well I'm not going to read through all 8 pages of comments, but Peter liked it, and I'd say it's about 50/50 on the first page. The movie wasn't well received by critics, but audiences seemed to respond much better. It amazes me how people get very vocal when they think their opinion is everyone's. Ever consider the 90% you speak of just yells louder than the rest of us?

FH99

Just because T3 wasn't all that great, it doesn't mean you can simply ignore it. McG's not just a hack, he's an idiot.

And never mind a 5th and 6th, someone needs to go back in time to prevent him from having made the 4th.

mchops

TS may not have been bad if there was a decent script.

Jonny

That applies to most movies...

mchops

Point is it wasn't the directors fault.

Vegan Zombie

He should make a Terminator 4 movie first.

Captain_Howdy

"He says Sarah Connor is going to be in the next film, but he’s not sure how he’s going to pull that off." Sounds like he's in typical McG form, at least.

JD

OBVIOUSLY it'll be a cgi Linda Hamilton fighting with a cgi Arnold.

Ugh.....

guest

First on all, box office wise Terminator Salvation underperformed and that was going off of a lot of good faith amongst fans from casting Bale and a pretty kick ass trailer. Who is going to go see a fifth directed by McG? Almost no one. There is so much scorn directed at this film that the audience isn't going to be burnt twice. It would be like bringing Mostow back after part 3.

It would be suicide for whatever company gets the rights to hire McG. That or severely slash the budget and there's no way McG can pull of a Terminator 1 type movie.

And second, I'm very much hoping that when Halcyon does go under that that releases Bale from whatever 3 picture deal he signed and he wises up to the bad career move he made and gets off this sinking ship.

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