It's been a hit-and-miss situation for the Terminator franchise since the double-barreled blast of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. The third installment in the franchise relied too much on plotting and backstory to keep audience's attention, whereas the story seemed to remain grounded in the present throughout the first two films, even in the flashbacks. This was an issue that similarly corrupted Terminator: Salvation and Terminator: Genisys but to a far lesser extent than the third movie. The bigger issue for these Terminator sequels, which remain entertaining for the most part, is that the violence has gone from sudden, brutal acts of murder, anchored to mortal stakes, to being just loud noise that seemingly follows the protagonists throughout their journey. There's a lack of consequence to all of it.

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Image via Paramount

This would seemingly be one of the things to consider when gearing up for the next Terminator film, although there was talk after the less-than-stellar returns on Genisys that the franchise was overdue for a break. Well, fresh off reports that James Cameron may be returning to the franchise, it's looking like that break will not take all that long.

During a recent conversation with our very own Steven Weintraub, Skydance honcho David Ellison said that there will be a major announcement about the Terminator franchise coming in 2017. He essentially left the announcement at that but you can read his quotes from the interview right below.

Here's what Ellison said during his interview with Steve:

"I will say we have resolved the future of the franchise and believe me its an incredibly bright future. I think where it’s going will be the continuation of what the fans really wanted since T2."

 

"We have something this year that we will be announcing for the franchise. It’s something we’re incredibly excited about and we think is the direction it needs to head."

Despite my middling feelings about the last three movies, I have an undeniable interest in hearing what exactly they are planning to do with the franchise. The story being told in Salvation is the most fascinating narrative of the last three and if one could find a way to plausibly rethink the war between John Conner and SkyNet, that could give the film some real energy. This is all speculation, however, and there's just as much information to suggest that the new film will simply be a reboot. Here's hoping this announcement comes sooner than later for the sake of my sanity.

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Image via Paramount Pictures
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Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via TriStar Pictures