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The Perfect Release Date For The Next Terminator Movie
A new Terminator movie has yet to be announced, but there's a perfect release date it really should hit. The Terminator franchise has struggled to find its feet beyond the second movie. Every entry that followed has proved mediocre to bad, including 2019's Dark Fate. Like the titular assassin, the series refuses to stay down, but the underwhelming performance of Terminator: Dark Fate suggests audiences had been burned by the saga too many times. The next entry really needs to be something special to win back fans.
It hasn't helped that the release dates between Terminator movie outings seem to get shorter and shorter. There was only a four-year gap between Terminator: Genisys and Dark Fate. The former was a legacy sequel that ended with multiple sequel teases and unanswered questions that Dark Fate completely ignored; the killing of young John Connor in the latter's opening did little to warm it to devotees either. Whatever shape the next Terminator takes, it needs to feel like an event that taps into the roots of the series while re-energizing it - and there's already a great release date for it.
Why 2029 Is The Next Terminator's Best Release Date
The Terminator saga has several key dates, including 1984 - the year Skynet sent back a T-800 back to kill Sarah Connor - or 1997 when the original Judgment Day began. July 11, 2029, marked the date that the human resistance launched an assault on Skynet and won the war, with the plan to kill Sarah in 1984 being a last-ditch effort by the machines to secure victory. Since July 11, 2029 marks such a significant date in Terminator lore, that could be the best release date for the next installment.
The fallout from Terminator: Dark Fate - which like Genisys, set itself up for more sequels - means there likely won't be another reboot for at least a few more years. July 2029 would mark nearly a full decade on from Dark Fate, giving audiences plenty of distance from the sequel's tepid reception. In truth, it will take more than a neat release date to excite audiences about yet another Terminator legacy sequel, but it would at least make it feel like an event once again.
What A New Terminator Must Fix About The Series
Several of the later Terminator sequels struggled due to trying to continue on from the first two while recycling the elements that made them work. Arnie's T-800 went from cool anti-hero to dorky, one-liner-spouting dad, while the new Terminator villains lacked menace. The sequels also kept setting up more entries that were abandoned when the next film hit the reset switch. The first thing a new Terminator must do is bring the series back to its core concepts while updating its themes for modern viewers.
That's what Dark Fate tried but failed to do because it relied too much on nostalgia. Since issues like A.I. and automated warfare are way more topical in the 21st century than when the series began, that's a good starting point. The seventh film should also tap into Terminator's horror/slasher roots, and focus on making the titular cyborg truly terrifying again. Arnie T-800 and Robert Patrick's T-1000 were scary villains, while none of their successors matched up. A great antagonist is key to the success of a Terminator movie, and like the first two, the whole story must feel like a relentless chase.
