Whenever you think of the best ’80s movies, one of the first that comes to mind should be The Terminator. Released in 1984, it mixed horror with the evolving sci-fi genre and went on to become a critically acclaimed masterpiece with several sequels following it. While most fans only regard the first two films as the best of the franchise, 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate did a decent job at returning to the original formula that made the old movies so great.
Unfortunately, it met a dark fate in the box office, possibly due to the past sequels not living up to expectations. It may be best to let the franchise sit for a bit before a sequel or reboot is made but here are 10 sequel ideas that could revive the franchise.
A True Post-Judgment Day War Movie
Terminator Salvation is the closest we got to see the war that was shown at the beginning of Terminator 2: Judgement Day. It wasn’t loved by most fans and didn’t have as strong a story as the first two films. Rather than focusing on the war, it tried to recreate another close relationship between John Connor and a human-like Terminator. It did have some callbacks to the original films but didn’t give seem to have a clear focus on where it was going to bring the franchise. A better sequel could learn from this and focus on John Connor’s struggles against the Terminators and Skynet primarily.
Focus On A New Protagonist In The Future
In Terminator: Dark Fate, things were changed up when John Connor was killed only months after Terminator 2’s ending. Dark Fate followed a new destined leader, Dani Ramos. The sequel followed familiar beats from the franchise but was still met with mixed reviews. A good idea and concept are definitely there and whether or not this evolves into something better if a sequel happens is really up in the air. If anything, a new reboot set in the war-torn future with a brand new protagonist could avoid a familiar plot.
Cyberdyne Systems: A Terminator Story
Terminator 2: Judgement Day explained a lot about how the vicious advanced AI robots would come to be. Cyberdyne Systems managed to get hold of the hand and chip from the first destroyed Terminator and began the process of reverse engineering.
The data, research and everything related to the project was destroyed in T2 but what if Cyberdyne Systems still managed to upload some of the data elsewhere? Imagine a mission, similar to that of Star Wars: Rogue One, taking place during the war with a rebel group (perhaps led by John Connor) on a mission to find this data to find a weakness against the Terminators.
An Original Show
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the only show we’ve gotten so far that’s set in the Terminator universe. It followed Sarah Connor after the events of Terminator 2 on a journey to keep John alive and ready for the war to come. The show only got two seasons before being canceled due to low ratings. It’d be interesting to revisit the show format with future resistance leader, Dani following the ending of Terminator: Dark Fate. The show can focus on her growing into the fearless leader she’s bound to become post-Judgment Day.
Let The Franchise Breathe
An idea that most fans could agree with would be letting the Terminator franchise breathe for a bit before trying a sequel or reboot. Maybe let ideas manifest in the minds of younger filmmakers that can take the franchise over. Maybe 5 years or 10 years later the franchise could see a big return in the way that Star Wars did in its gap from 2005 to 2015. It’d be a long wait but could definitely pay off. Whether it’s Dark Fate 2 or a completely new Terminator movie, patience is key for this franchise to get back on its feet.
Bring Back James Cameron As Director
As of right now, James Cameron is heavily focused on delivering the Avatar sequels that are slated to release from 2021 to 2027. He’s definitely got his hands full as he tackles possibly the most ambitious films in his entire career. It would, however, be great to see him return to the director’s chair for a Terminator sequel. Cameron did have involvement as a producer in Dark Fate but it’s definitely nothing compared to having him at the helm of the entire project. He may be the destined director to fix the confusing timeline of the recent sequels.
Found Footage Terminator Movie
Think, Blair Witch Project meets Terminator in a terrifying found footage film set during the events of Judgment Day. This could focus on a group of regular characters or even resistance fighters trapped in a situation that develops the story.
What caused the robots to turn and how did that affect the world when it began to happen? It could be a fresh format for the franchise and even be something that might be better off on a streaming service and have some mysterious marketing to build up hype.
Terminator vs Alien
This is one of the more crazier ideas that would probably never happen but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be awesome. Terminator and Alien are two of the greatest sci-fi horror films from the late ’70s and ’80s. Seeing the Alien queen fight against the T-800 Terminator would be an epic fight. It could be some sort of an alternate reality where the Terminators win the war and the Aliens eventually come to fight against them. Perhaps Predator or Robocop can join the fight as well for an all-out epic battle to the death?
Terminator: Dark Fate 2
Terminator: Dark Fate is the best sequel since Terminator 2. It doesn’t live up to it or come close to the cultural impact that it made, but it’s a fun movie. The ending of Dark Fate saw the death of Grace who was sent back in time to protect future resistance leader, Dani. Now training with Sarah Connor, Dani sets out to prepare for the imminent war that will see the machines rise to destroy humanity. Dani finds a young Grace and makes it her goal to protect her. A sequel could build on the relationship between Dani and Sarah Connor without time travel being a plot point.
Return To Horror
The first Terminator movie is loved for its very unique plot by mixing elements of horror with Sci-Fi. A machine being sent back in time to stop a war-hero from being born was an idea far ahead of its time. The first movie did well at making the Terminator feel scary and mysterious. He was ruthless and stopped at nothing to complete his task. Terminator 2: Judgment Day took this plot to the next level by introducing a Terminator that was sent back in time to protect the war-hero from another Terminator. The sequels lost some of the horror elements and replaced them with more action and humor. It would be great to see a return to the roots of what made Terminator so great.
