Dark Fate's box office performance already smells like failure. The new Terminator installment has had a much lower box office than expected in its first week ($30 million in the US). Unlike what happened with Genesis, foreign theaters aren't expected to save Dark Fate this time. Now that the atmosphere surrounding the sixth Terminator film is deteriorating so badly that it casts a dark shadow over the future of the supposed new trilogy , we at Postposmo are feeling rather uneasy.
Failure of Terminator: Dark Fate: why?
For a moment we thought we were going crazy. But no. This refrain sounded familiar. With the release four years ago of the fifth Terminator film, Paramount already demonstrated this ambition, which they then had to cancel, only to resurrect it later, and who knows if they'll cancel it again. If there's one thing Hollywood knows, it's failure. Dark Fate has just been added to the list.
One thing is clear: Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't lying when he said "I will be back." With six films under its belt, the Terminator saga is like that gambling cousin who owes us money and keeps coming back. And every time he returns, he swears that this time he's really done it. That this time he's changed.
James Cameron , the film director who intends to bring humanity four new Avatar movies over the next decade, is the producer of the new Terminator: Dark Fate , Terminator 6 for short. Besides having directed the legendary Terminator 1 and 2 (the good ones), Cameron is the man who, unintentionally, best explains the true reason for being of the film that has just been released in the saga:
"I think the best way to think about Terminator: Dark Fate is as a direct sequel to 'Terminator 2,' like the third film in the series, if you will. We're going to continue Sarah's story, John's story, and the T-800 is back; a different T-800 that plays a different role than what we've seen before."
Translation: We're going to keep pressing buttons until we find the winner. Despite Terminator Genisys (2015) and its Emilia Clarke Targaryen (who has stated she wants nothing to do with the saga). Despite Terminator Salvation , with Christian Bale in the lead role (and influenced in part by the presence of Christopher Nolan 's brother , Jonathan Nolan , on its screenplay). And despite Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines , the only sequel with Arnold Schwarzenegger's full involvement/starring role.
Nothing, the real sequel is the new one, for real, they seem to be telling the public. The others were just filler. Expansion packs in the Terminator saga. The true spirit worthy of the Terminator 3 label is Dark Fate.
Terminator Saga: movie summary
As if the new Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and the myriad CGI-laden Disney reboots hadn't already made it clear, Hollywood's more fantastical side is perhaps going through its least creative period in history. Or its most nostalgic, if you prefer. For the sake of common sense regarding the sweet matter of exquisiteness, we request that Blade Runner 2049 not be included in this category. How good it is, and how little attention has been paid to Blade Runner 2049.
That the first two installments of Terminator were successes that left their mark on the cultural codes of an era is indisputable. That there is demand for a new trilogy of the saga more than thirty years after its premiere is something that, at the very least, deserves a sly article on the cultural web.
The 2015 release of the fifth installment, Genesis , was preceded by an announcement that, even then, shocked audiences: "It will be the first of a Terminator trilogy." Genesis was a film that didn't receive a warm reception from critics or audiences, especially considering the number of loose ends the plot left (who sent the good Terminator back in time to protect Sarah Connor?). No less surprising were the headlines (much less publicized by Paramount) that followed the film weeks after its release: "The future of the Terminator cinematic universe is on indefinite hold ." Terminator Genisys cost the production company Skydance Media over $150 million. After its theatrical run, the numbers didn't add up as well as they should have, and this time the headlines announced the definitive end of the Terminator saga.
One might think that the commercial failure of Genesis took its creators by surprise. That it was something unimaginable, something unprecedented in the robot saga.
One might think.
Christian Bale, star of 2009's Terminator Salvation (the fourth installment), has confessed to regretting his participation in that film. Like Genisys and Dark Fate, newspapers announced that Salvation was intended to be the start of a new trilogy centered on a future John Connor , relegating Arnold Schwarzenegger's role to a mere footnote. That trilogy never materialized. Does this sound familiar? Unlike its sequels, Terminator 4, like Terminator 3, was produced by Warner Bros.
“We want to be Marvel”
Every new love interest in Terminator, brimming with schemes, has believed they possess THE PLAN . The Terminator franchise's producer/distributor roster, in simplified terms, is as follows:
1984 – Terminator 1: Orion/Metro Goldwyn Mayer
1991 – Terminator 2 Judgment Day: Tristar Pictures/Sony Pictures
2003 – Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines: Warner Bros/Columbia
2009 – Terminator 4 : Warner Bros/Columbia
2015 – Terminator 5 Genisys: Paramount
2019 – Terminator 6 Dark Fate: Paramount/Walt Disney
David Ellison, CEO of Skydance Media, told the New York Times after the release of the Terminator Genisys reboot that his company aspired to emulate the Disney-Marvel model. Ellison, 32, is the son of billionaire Oracle founder Lawrence J. Ellison. His recent ventures include the creation of a clothing line and the acquisition of a video game company. While Skydance Media lacks a catalog of 5.000 superheroes, his production company does have access to the rights to franchises such as Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Jack Ryan, Jack Reacher, the new Top Gun (released in 2020), and, of course, Terminator.
Interestingly, and perhaps to explain this string of failures, a member of Marvel itself has weighed in on the matter . Deadpool creator Rob Lefield claims the Terminator franchise is dead because young people today don't even know who it is: "We've never seen a Terminator movie," his 19-year-old son's roommates remarked last Thursday during a FaceTime call. "I've never seen a Terminator movie with you, Dad," my son added. "I was stunned by the cold, hard truth," Lefield continued.
What if it turns out that in the end it was true that nostalgia brings nothing good?