As a fan of the Terminator franchise and Game of Thrones, I thought I'd mention this news here. Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) has been cast in the iconic role of Sarah Connor, beating out contenders like Brie Larson and Margot Robbie. Her screen son John Connor could be played by Jason Clarke (no relation), best-known for The Chicago Code and Zero Dark Thirty, but talks are ongoing.
The new Terminator film, Terminator: Genesis, will be directed by Alan Taylor (Thor 2), who has worked with Emilia Clarke on Game of Thrones, so perhaps that helped her cause. It is scheduled for a 2015 release. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to reprise his role as The Terminator, providing a bridge from the original movies and this new trilogy, so I'm expecting a Star Trek-style reboot that turns James Cameron's movies into a parallel timeline.
In addition to the new movies, another TV series is being planned—despite the fact Fox's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles tried and failed to make that work with big audiences. Weirdly, the new TV series is being written by Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller, who both worked on Chronicles. This new series supposedly takes a key moment from the 1984 original movie in a different direction, taking the story down a separate timelime to Terminator: Genesis.
This is all very interesting, but potentially confusing if the films and TV series exist in different timelines, which are again separate to the first four movies. As always with the Terminator franchise, there's a pervasive feeling the concept has been done and films without James Cameron at the helm aren't worth doing. But having Schwarzenegger reprise his role could be advantageous, if they don't hide the fact he's in his 60s now (making him so battle-damaged you can't tell his age, or using advanced special effects to turn back the clock?)
And while I really like the casting of Emilia Clark, for lots of reasons, considering she's only 5'1" tall I don't imagine she'll be as physically imposing as Linda Hamilton was in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. But at least she can take tips from her Games of Thrones co-star Lena Headey, who played Sarah Connor in Chronicles! Small world.
What do you make of all this? Bored by the Terminator franchise now, or excited to see an overhaul of the concept with a nod to the James Cameron era? Is a TV series going to work this time, considering Sarah Connor Chronicles didn't (despite being pretty good at times)?
