Prepare for plenty of Terminator goodness over the next few years. Annapurna Pictures and Paramount Pictures are currently developing a feature film reboot of the franchise to be directed by Thor: The Dark World’s Alan Taylor, but in addition to that film it appears that a new TV series is in the works as well. Megan Ellison and David Ellison, the producers of the new Terminator film, are producing this new TV show iteration with Thor and X-Men: First Class scribes Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller onboard to write and executive produce. Moreover, this new TV show will directly tie into the new Terminator movie, which is being planned as the first in a trilogy of films. Hit the jump for more.
Annapurna Pictures, the studio behind American Hustle and Zero Dark Thirty, landed the rights to the Terminator franchise back in 2011, but they only just started making serious movements on the feature film front. The rebooted film is due in theaters on July 1, 2015, but THR reports that a new TV series is being developed in tandem with the film. Here’s the logline for the show per THR’s report:
The TV series will follow a critical moment from the first Terminator film (1984) and, where the film's story goes one way, the upcoming series will take the same moment in a completely different direction. As the rebooted film trilogy and the new TV series progress, the two narratives will intersect with each other in some surprising and dramatic ways.
Interweaving the feature film franchise with the TV show is certainly an ambitious prospect, but nabbing Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller to write and executive produce the series seems like a solid move. In addition to penning the screenplays for Thor and X-Men: First Class, the duo served as writer/producers on Fringe and, coincidentally, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The latter series ended its run in 2009, and presumably this new TV show will be significantly different than that show.
On the feature film side of things, the role of the new Sarah Connor is apparently down to Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Brie Larson (21 Jump Street). Once that role is filled, Alan Taylor and the studio plan on moving on to casting John Connor and Kyle Reese. It’ll be interesting to see if there is also character crossover with the TV show, meaning that whoever is cast in one of the supporting roles in the Terminator film might also be a major presence in the TV series. There’s no word on how soon the TV show might make it to airwaves, but a 2015 launch to coincide with the feature film doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility.
