Linda Hamilton Returning for 'Terminator 2' Sequel, But 'Centerpiece' Will Be 18
Sarah Connor is back! Linda Hamilton is returning to her iconic "Terminator" role, James Cameron revealed, although he won't be directing the sequel and an 18-year-old woman will be the "new centerpiece of the new story." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron and the new director, Tim Miller ("Deadpool"), are planning a trilogy that can either stand alone or form an overarching story.
THR got the scoop on the new installment being made by Skydance and Paramount. Arnold Schwarzenegger has already been confirmed for what's being treated as a direct sequel to Cameron's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." (Sounds like the other sequels, like "Salvation" and "Genisys," have been terminated.)
Even with Linda and Ahhhnold, the movie will focus on the next generation. Here's what Cameron announced at a private event celebrating the "Terminator" franchise (via THR):
"We're starting a search for an 18-something woman to be the new centerpiece of the new story. We still fold time. We will have characters from the future and the present. There will be mostly new characters, but we'll have Arnold and Linda's characters to anchor it."
Cameron recently made headlines taking shots at "Wonder Woman," making a comparison to Sarah Connor from his own films, inventing a girl-on-girl feud no one wanted. When sharing his news that Hamilton's Connor will be back, Cameron told his audience, "as meaningful as she was to gender and action stars everywhere back then, it's going to make a huge statement to have that seasoned warrior that she's become return."
Cameron added, "There are 50-year old, 60-year old guys out there killing bad guys" -- possibly referencing the "Mission: Impossible" films, or "Fast & Furious," "John Wick," etc. -- "but there isn't an example of that for women." It would be cool if Helen Mirren or Linda Hamilton had their own action franchise, like 50-something Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise, but if this new trilogy is really following a younger generation, does it even qualify?
Linda Hamilton is now 60. She made Sarah Connor iconic with her transformation from the timid passive victim of the first 1984 "Terminator" to the incredibly buff badass of 1991's "T2." It will be good to see her back, and she'd better have as big a role as ever now that Cameron is out there promoting her as a "seasoned warrior."
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