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Much has already been said about the nature of the upcoming Terminator film, Terminator: Genisys as it relates to the franchise as a whole.  It features new actors playing the already existing roles of Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), John Connor (Jason Clarke), and Danny Dyson (Dayo Okeniyi), but it also features the return of Arnold Schwarzengger as the titular machine.  It has previously been described as not exactly a reboot but not necessarily a sequel either, and one imagines it involves a heavy amount of time travel given the age of John Connor.

Steve recently spoke with actor Jai Courtney in anticipation of his upcoming film Felony, and the discussion turned to Terminator.  Courtney said he’d actually describe the film as a “reset”, adding that if someone hasn’t seen the first two Terminator films they wouldn’t be completely lost when watching Genisys.  Additionally, the actor discussed the prospect of reprising his role in future sequels.  See what he had to say after the jump.

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While Courtney admitted that he can’t really say much of anything about Genisys, he did discuss the film’s categorization in relation to the franchise as a whole:

“I think it’s going to be really cool what they’ve done with it.  It’s curious, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we actually frame—people want to know if it’s a sequel or a reboot.  A word that kind of came to me is that it’s more of a ‘reset.’  That’s the awesome thing about when you play with time travel.  We can kind of get away with, you know, maybe we’re introduced to a world that audiences know but circumstances can change and that shifts the course of everything.”

As I've said before, it’s sounding more and more like director Alan Taylor is approaching this Terminator film the way J.J. Abrams approached his 2009 Star Trek film.  Respecting the mythology, but carving out a new path so as to keep the new series fresh and unpredictable.

Steve asked Courtney if it’s important for people to have seen James Cameron’s original Terminator films in order to understand Genisys, and he said he thinks the film exists enough as its own thing that could be comprehendible as a standalone experience:

“I don’t think it’s either or.  I think it’s, if they wanted to [watch the first two films] they could but I don’t think that if they hadn’t they’ll see our film and be completely lost.”

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With regards to the Terminator sequels, which have already been dated for release in 2017 and 2018, Courtney seems game to be a part of this franchise:

“They’ve already slated [the sequels].  They released their proposed released dates for the next two, so it’s cool.  Something like that, I don’t have a problem thinking that it’ll be part of my life for the next few years because I’m into it.  I like the idea of it… I feel like with this, the plan they have and the journey that we’re gonna go on from here will be different enough to not feel like we’re just repeating history.”

Watch the portion of the video interview regarding Terminator below, and look for Steve’s full interview with Courtney on Collider soon.  Terminator: Genisys opens in theaters on July 1, 2015.