Why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘Terminator 6’ Claim Is Bogus
While the news should be taken with a grain of salt, the internet nonetheless collectively gasps as Arnold Schwarzenegger alludes to a potential sixth Terminator film being on the way.
“I am looking forward to it, absolutely.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
When he says he’ll be back, Arnold’s metal alloy T-800 turned nano-tech fueled T-1000 hybrid Terminator will be back. This time however, I feel as though his on-screen return may not actually happen. Not yet anyway. In a recent interview with Australia’s Channel 9, the one-time ‘Conan the Barbarian’ and former Governor of California was probed about the potential for a ‘Terminator 6.’ The Austrian on-screen death-machine replied with the following vague, and perhaps misleading statement: “I am looking forward to it, absolutely,” without any further explanation or details.
Let us pause for a moment and remember that the poor domestic box-office numbers of $89 million coupled with equally dismal critical and fan response to the previous installment, ‘Terminator: Genisys,’ prompted Paramount to bump the slated Terminator 6, instead replacing it with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s ‘Baywatch’ reboot.
Sidenote: ‘Baywatch’ has a sky-net in it aswell, it’s just used for playing volleyball; not a machine empire hellbent on eradicating mankind.
The question now becomes, how does Arnold’s stirring statement actually translate to another ‘Terminator’ film looming in the future?
On one hand, there is an unexplored potential that could ultimately give rise to the 6th installment. ‘Terminator Genesis’, which also starred ‘Game of Thrones’ actress Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, former Doctor Who Matt Smith and Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, did significantly better overseas than it did at home. What was considered a box-office blunder domestically did significantly better globally making $350 million at the international box office, even making close to $90 million on opening day in the Chinese market.
Global figures aside, the vague statement made by The Arnold, who recently replaced Donald Trump as the host of ‘The Apprentice,’ could be interpreted in a great number of ways. Whether it was just Arnold showing his hopefully optimism and willingness to work on a future project, or a strategic name drop to test the market and see if the ’Terminator’ brand could make trending news on Facebook (mission accomplished), until we get some more concrete details and a confirmation form Paramount, I would say that ‘Terminator 6’ will NOT be back (at least not until SkyNet has already risen).