Although The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day rank among the best sci-fi movies of all time, the later movies in this franchise were met with mixed or outright negative critical reactions. 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, which was a direct sequel to the first two movies, arguably fared the best among this group, though whatever positive reception it received was outweighed by how poorly it performed at the box office. But even before Dark Fate came out, I learned from co-writer David S. Goyer that he already had an inkling the movie “might be in trouble.” Strangely enough, a pinball machine helped him realize this.
My recent conversation with the Man of Steel writer was wide-ranging, covering topics like The Sandman Season 2 finale’s big twists, his thoughts about James Gunn’s Superman, and how he expects Murderbot Season 2 will adapt the next books in the series. Before the interview was over, though, I had to ask him having written an early draft of Terminator: Dark Fate, specifically if there were any elements from his version that he wished had been kept in the movie. After Goyer told me most of what he’d written made it into the final product, he shared the following while reflecting on his time attached to the last Terminator movie:
But I think the thing that all of us realized after the fact was in terms of rebooting the franchise…. I’ve got 3 boys. My boys had no affinity for Terminator. They didn’t know anything, so we just assumed that the audience would be there. So I think when you’re rebooting these things, you have to take that into consideration as well. I remember asking my oldest son, who I might have been 12 at the time, or maybe he was 13, if he knew what Terminator was, and he said, ‘I think there was like a pinball machine.’ That’s what he knew, and I realized, ‘Oh crap, we might be in trouble.’
The Terminator was released in 1984, and Terminator: Dark Fate followed 35 years later. While some movies/franchises appeal across multiple generations, like Star Wars, when it came to Terminator, David S. Goyer’s sons knew absolutely nothing about it. The oldest son had only ever come into contact with it from seeing that pinball machine once upon a time. I’m curious about which one he specifically saw and if it’s anywhere nearby where I can play it… but I digress.
The point being, while Terminator: Dark Fate may have been a big draw for the people who’d been fans of the first two Terminator movies for a long time, Goyer’s experience with his son made him realize the premise might not be enough to draw in newcomers. Goyer liked the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton came back to respectively reprise the T-800 and Sarah Connor, but even with new characters like Mackenzie Davis’ Grace, Natalia Reyes’ Dani Ramos and Gabriel Luna’s Rev-9, there was too much tying Dark Fate to the past. It might’ve been better to just make a complete reboot in order to properly revitalize the franchise.
So just like Terminator Salvation and Terminator Genisys before it, Terminator: Dark Fate failed to launch a new trilogy. Although the anime series Terminator Zero was released to Netflix subscription holders in August 2024, there’s still no news about if/when the Terminator film series will continue.
