terminator 5 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's a dispiriting exercise to think about movie franchises that have been run into the ground. For years now, big Hollywood studios have focused on developing and cultivating franchise properties with worldwide appeal that are dependent more on iconic characters than the actors who play them.

When it works, it's fabulous (Star Trek). When it doesn't, it's awful (Fast & Furious). Even worse than the total misfires, though, are the movies that drag down a franchise into mediocrity, yet still make enough money to justify a sequel from a financial standpoint (X-Men Origins: Wolverine). Box office disasters don't necessarily discourage further installments, but often force a studio to rethink the property (Superman Returns). But good box office earnings despite negative reactions tend to empower executives and filmmakers, who then feel they can safely ignore the warning signs and make another sequel without really considering what could be done to improve the product film.

After two fabulous movies, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines "revived" the franchise, but was barely average as an action picture. The new producers of Terminator: Salvation tried to make it their own by bringing in a new director, new stars, and a new storyline, but the results were disappointing in every way but the bottom line. With total worldwide earnings of $341 million, however, Terminator 5 is on its way, and director McG is talking again about what he wants to do. As for me, I say it's time we kill off the franchises that have become mediocre. Let them lay fallow for a few years or decades. Which franchise would you most like to see put out of its misery? Take our poll and let us know!

How many time-traveling naked entities would you like to see in your immediate future? With Terminator Salvation ready to explode onto cinema screens on May 21, director McG is thinking about the next potential installment of the burgeoning franchise. "They've figured out time travel to the degree where they can send more than one naked entity," he told Film Journal International in a very interesting, lengthy interview. "John Connor is going to travel back in time and he's going to have to galvanize the militaries of the world for an impending Skynet invasion."

Set in 2018, Terminator Salvation takes place in a post-Judgment Day world in which Skynet has not yet figured out how to travel through time. McG says, "I strongly suspect the next movie is going to take place in a [pre-Judgment Day] 2011." With the ability to send more than one "naked entity" through time, "you're going to have hunter killers and transports and harvesters and everything arriving in our time and Connor fighting back with conventional military warfare," the director enthused, "which I think is going to be f**king awesome."

McG again floated the idea that Robert Patrick (or a scientist "that's going to look a lot like present-day Robert Patrick") will make an appearance, "talking about stem-cell research and how we can all live as idealized, younger versions of ourselves." Pardon me if I hold my enthusiasm for the next installment until I see TS. (Warner Brothers evidently is taking a similar 'wait and see' approach.) Also, the idea of a futuristic military battling modern-day armies sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it? Based on the trailers and clips you've seen of Terminator Salvation, are you salivating at the prospect of Terminator 5?