Terminator: Genisys – Commence Spinning!

You know the difference between Terminator: Genisys and, I don’t know, something like Mad Max: Fury Road?  One was so good and well received that Warner Bros. is allowing its director to take some time out before filming two more sequels.  Even a moderately good movie would’ve prompted them to just hire someone else.  Then there’s Terminator: Genisys, a movie that could not break even. Word got out that no sequels were being made.

And now, it’s time to commence spinning!

Skydance CCO Dana Goldberg appeared at TheWrap’s 6th Annual Media Leadership Conference this week and talked about the performance of ‘Genisys’ and reports of the franchise being put on hold. Her response is one of well crafted spin:

“We’re ultimately happy with overall worldwide numbers. Do I wish we would have done better domestically? Absolutely. Happily, we live in the world where the domestic number had a level of importance 10 or 15 years ago – I’m not saying it’s not important, it is – but we have to play to a worldwide market. In terms of ‘Terminator,’ the worldwide market paid attention, but we’re not taking the domestic number lightly.

Do we intend to have a next step of Terminator? Yes, we do…I wouldn’t say on hold, so much as re-adjusting. At Skydance, when we talk movies, we talk universes, even more than franchises. So the idea of a ‘Terminator’ TV show fits into that universe. All the steps have to be taken in unison.

[We’re assembling] data and research to do a worldwide study and really talk to audiences about what they loved, and what maybe didn’t work for them, so that the next we take with the franchise is the right one. We are not going to begin production at the beginning of next year, because again, it would be silly to not have to worry about what audiences have to say.”

Re-adjusting is classic corporate speak for ‘you’re done’.  Even if Jim Cameron didn’t retain the rights in 2019, a sequel to this would not come earlier than 2018.  Which pretty much means that if another Terminator movie gets made, Jim Cameron will be the one who does it.