Schwarzenegger Confirms Return to ‘Terminator’ Franchise

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a pretty candid dude and doesn’t have to answer to anyone. He didn’t beat around the bush as to why he won’t be appearing in Shane Black’s The Predator and he’s been speaking openly about his involvement in the next Terminator film. Even though creator James Cameron doesn’t regain his rights until 2019, he’s already made a deal with the current rights holder to produce a brand new trilogy. It’s already been revealed that the plan is for Deadpool‘s Tim Miller to direct and that Schwarzenegger could return in some capacity but there are still a lot of gray areas.

Here’s the latest, courtesy of Schwarzenegger, who tells The Playlist shooting is to begin next March.

“In March next year, I am shooting Terminator 6, James Cameron and David Ellison are back on board and then comes a Conan.”

There are a few reasons this is interesting with the first being that Cameron doesn’t receive the rights back until 2019 but it already so far along that they plan to go behind cameras next spring. What really caught my attention, however, is that Schwarzenegger calls the next film Terminator 6. This would imply that the new trilogy will remain canon with the previous five films, although it’s unclear what incarnation of Schwarzenegger we will see in these new films – or what time period/dimension it will take place in.

No matter, I think we all trust in Cameron to find a way to take the franchise to new and more advanced places that align with modern technology and theories on space and time. He’s now twice (T2 and Aliens) been able to up the ante with a franchise, can he come in this late in the game and do the same once again with the sixth Terminator? That would be legendary.