James Cameron Hints at Secret New ‘Terminator’ Project in Development

The man who kicked off the ‘Terminator’ franchise refused to offer any concrete information, but was candid about a variety of other subjects.

Director James Cameron at D23 2024 presenting 'Avatar: Fire and Ash'. Photo: Disney.

Preview:

James Cameron has let slip he’s developing a new ‘Terminator’ project.
He offered no details on the mystery project.
A wide-ranging interview saw him cover other topics.

James Cameron is not a man to mince words. He’s been outspoken on a variety of topics and continues to be a no-BS talker when he’s interviewed.

And though it seemed he would be busy with ‘Avatar’ projects for the foreseeable future, he’s someone who has always had time to figure out other ideas, even if he ends up handing them off to other filmmakers.

OceanXplorers

NR1 SeasonsAugust 18th, 2024

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The Hollywood Reporter recently sat down with him to discuss one of his new projects, a docuseries called ‘OceanXplorers’ that channels one of his other big passions: diving deep into the sea.

Yet it was his comments about something potentially new in the ‘Terminator’ world that drew the most excitement…

The Terminator

"Your future is in its hands."

R1 hr 48 minOct 26th, 1984

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What did James Cameron say about a new ‘Terminator’ project?

Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day.'

When asked about the upcoming ‘Terminator Zero’ animated project landing on Netflix on August 29th, he admitted that he had nothing to do with it but hoped that it would be a success.

Still, more intriguingly, he dropped word of his own development in that sphere.

“I’m working on my own ‘Terminator’ stuff right now. It’s got nothing to do with that. Like with ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’, they occasionally touched on things I had been playing with completely independently. It’s totally classified. I don’t want to have to send out a potentially dangerous robotic agent if you were to talk about it, even retroactively.”

Intriguing! Despite his obvious need for secrecy, there’s much to anticipate about a ‘Terminator’ that includes real involvement from Cameron. The movies and shows that followed his groundbreaking 1984 original and its even more impressive sequel, ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ have been hit and miss (mostly, let’s be honest, miss, even 2019’s ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’, which boasted Cameron as a producer), but if he’s excited by something in the ‘Terminator’ world, we’re not going to bet against someone who has made some of the most successful movies in history.

What else did James Cameron talk about?

(L to R) Director James Cameron and Jamie Lee Curtis at D23 2024. Photo: Disney.

One of the better answers Cameron gives in the interview is when he’s asked about comments Roland Emmerich made at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con about leaving the ‘Fantastic Voyage’ remake because Cameron (who wrote a draft and was a producer on the still-unmade movie) was, to quote Emmerich, “Overbearing”.

Here’s what Cameron said:

“I’ve never said anything negative about Roland. But anyway: Yes, I’m overbearing. Damn right. When it’s a project where I’ve contributed to the writing, I might actually have an opinion on it. I actually don’t even remember talking to Roland Emmerich about 'Fantastic'. I remember the other directors that we worked with for months on end trying to develop that project. If I talked to Roland, it was for two minutes. I have a pretty good memory and I don’t remember that at all.”

There was one other subject that caused a hot-button response. Asked about complaints with regards to the look of the new 4K transfers of ‘Aliens’ and ‘True Lies’.

This is what he said:

“When people start reviewing your grain structure, they need to move out of mom’s basement and meet somebody. Right? I’m serious. I mean, are you f****** kidding me? I’ve got a great team that does the transfers. I do all the color and density work. I look at every shot, every frame, and then the final transfer is done by a guy who has been with me [for years]. All the ‘Avatar’ films are done that way. Everything is done that way. Get a life, people, seriously."

Oh, James Cameron… never change.