Arnold Schwarzenegger explains how the next 'Terminator' movie will fix the franchise
- Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks "Terminator Genisys" focused too much on time travel.
- He says the next Terminator movie will be more simple.
- More than 30 years after the original "Terminator" debuted, Schwarzenegger still loves playing the character.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has no plans to retire one of his most memorable characters anytime soon.
Schwarzenegger became an action movie superstar in 1984 when he was cast as the indestructible T-800 cyborg for James Cameron's sci-fi box office hit, "The Terminator." Since then, the actor has played the iconic character three more times (the only time he wasn't in a Terminator movie was "Terminator Salvation" in 2009, when he was the governor of California). 33 years after the first movie, he says he still loves playing the character.
"I think the T-800 model is a really interesting character," Schwarzenegger told Business Insider while promoting his new movie "Killing Gunther" (currently available on streaming and in theaters). "He's a machine, can be destructive, can do things human beings can't do, but at the same time when newer technology comes along the character suddenly is vulnerable and that makes him even more interesting."
However, the latest movie in the franchise, "Terminator Genisys," tested the patience of its fan base.
Despite earning over $350 million overseas (compared to just $89.7 million domestically), most complained of the movie's convoluted storyline that dealt with time travel. Schwarzenegger said that, on top of the story being confusing, it made his T-800 character feel less vulnerable and more like "an ordinary guy who suddenly gets activated again."
"It's hard to come up with new ideas when you stay within that framework," Schwarzenegger said of the complex plot focusing on the future and the past in "Terminator Genisys."
"I think [James] Cameron and Tim [Miller] came up with a concept where they can continue on with the T-800 but make a whole new movie," he said. "What they are doing now with this one is basically to just take a few very basic characters, like Linda Hamilton's character and my character, and dismiss everything else. Just move away from all these rules of the timeline and other characters."
Hamilton plays Sarah Connor, in the franchise. Her last time playing the character was in 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (her voice was also used in "Terminator Salvation").
Despite the mixed reaction by fans to "Terminator Genisys" and previous titles in the franchise, the movies still earn monster coin globally. Since "T2," all of the "Terminator" movies have each earned over $400 million globally except for "Salvation" ($371 million), which Schwarzenegger didn't star in.
The upcoming untitled "Terminator" movie will open in theaters in 2019.