Terminator is the biggest franchise that’s still owned outside the studio system, but anyone wanting to make a Terminator movie still needs one of the big boys to distribute the film. Now TheWrap reports that Paramount Pictures is in negotiations to distribute the upcoming Terminator 5, which has Arnold Schwarzenegger attached to star.
The studio will team up with Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures and David Ellison’s Skydance Productions, who are both financing the project jointly. Writers Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry) and Laeta Kalogridis (White House Down) have signed on to write the screenplay, but a director has not been attached as of yet. Justin Lin was previously attached to direct before he bowed out back in September 2011.
There is a ticking clock on production though, as certain Terminator rights revert to James Cameron in a few years, so Annapurna and Skydance need to get going fairly quickly.