It was difficult to tell if recent rumours of Arnie mulling over appearing in a new Terminator were true, or if they were the fever dream of someone over-excited by Arnie’s return to film from the world of politics. However it has now been confirmed, with Deadline reporting that Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to return to the Terminator franchise, in a new installment to be directed by Fast Five’s Justin Lin.
CAA is currently shopping a rights package to various different studios with both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Justin Lin attached. Robert W. Cort is producing, though no screenwriter has been hired at this time.
Universal, Sony, CBS Films and Lionsgate are all reportedly considering the package that CAA has put together, although recent reports have suggested Universal is the most likely home (they apparently helped Lin put the package together), as they’ve worked closely with the director in the past.
Like with the rush to get Man of Steel in production (because Warner Bros. will lose certain rights to Superman in a couple of years time), there is a ticking clock to get a new Terminator into production soon, as the rights will revert back to James Cameron in 2018. Though he has no plans to ever make another Terminator, he would have to be included in any deal that would see another film go into production past 2018, and so Pacificor, which bought the franchise rights last year for nearly $30 million, will want to make sure they make there money back before then. Currently, there is at least enough time to make two new Terminator movies before 2018, although whatever studio picks it up will really have to want to make the project, as the package CAA is shopping apparently has a pricetag of over $35 million.
But can Arnie really come back as The Terminator itself? He would seem to old, and would need a lot of CG de-aging if he did. More likely it that Arnie would play a different character, presumably the person the cyborg is modelled on.