Paramount has released six new images from Tim Miller’s upcoming sequel Terminator: Dark Fate. There are no firm details on the plot, but the film will follow the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and ignore the maligned sequels Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator: Salvation, and Terminator: Genisys.

Miller tells IGN that the story for a new Terminator clicked for him when they brought Sarah Connor (with Linda Hamilton returning the role) back into the mix:

"What makes or breaks a movie is whether I care about the characters when everything starts exploding. I’m sure every action filmmaker says that, but I did really try and focus on the relationships of these characters to one another.  And the fact that Linda came back makes this particular Terminator fresh, this story could only continue with her in the role of Sarah Conner. That’s the most important thing for me," said Miller. "Linda reinvented this character in a way that both honors who she was before and brings something new to the role."

I agree that Hamilton’s turn as Sarah Connor is far more vital to the series than the importance lavished on John Connor in the sequels, but the larger problem remains that this is a franchise out of steam. They’ve tried three different tacks to keep the story going, and none of them have worked. Some will point to James Cameron’s involvement in Dark Fate as why this one will be different, but nothing escapes the larger truth that when you push the story past T2, you automatically negate T2. Either you held off the apocalypse or you didn’t, and every sequel means the resolution of Judgment Day is “The apocalypse has been postponed.” I’d like to see another good Terminator movie, but this franchise has earned our skepticism.

Check out the new Terminator: Dark Fate images below. The film opens November 1st and also stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, and Diego Boneta.

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Image via Skydance and Paramount
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Image via Skydance and Paramount
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Image via Skydance and Paramount
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Image via Skydance and Paramount
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Image via Skydance and Paramount
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Image via Skydance and Paramount

Here’s the official synopsis for Terminator: Dark Fate:

Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (T-800) return in their iconic roles in Terminator: Dark Fate, directed by Tim Miller (Deadpool) and produced by visionary filmmaker James Cameron and David Ellison. Following the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator: Dark Fate also stars Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, and Diego Boneta.