In September 2024, Cameron confirmed that he’s working on more Terminator movies, and confirmed that he will drop the specific iconography of the saga (via Empire). This includes not bringing the characters of Schwarzenegger and Hamilton back, instead having a new cast and a new approach to the world of Terminator. Now, finding the right replacement for Schwarzenegger might seem like a big challenge, but there’s one actor who has been continuously proving he could take that spot: Alan Ritchson.

Ritchson made his acting debut in Smallville as Arthur Curry a.k.a. Aquaman in 2005, and the following year he made his big screen debut in the horror movie The Butcher. After more movie and TV roles, most notably Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel and Hawk in the TV series тιтans, Ritchson became widely known when he was cast as Jack Reacher in Prime Video’s Reacher. The show has established Ritchson as an action star, which, along with his charm and talent, makes him the perfect choice to replace Schwarzenegger in a future Terminator movie.

I Want To See Alan Ritchson As A Bad Terminator Before He’s A Good Guy

The Franchise’s Greatest Trick Was How It Handled Its Main Character’s Shift

It’s unclear how different Terminator 7 would be, as Cameron hasn’t been detailed about how much the reboot would change what we all know and love about the franchise (and he might never reveal much, to be honest). However, what I would like to see if Ritchson joins the Terminator world is him being a bad Terminator first, pretty much like Schwarzenegger’s version. In his first appearance, Schwarzenegger’s Terminator is sent from 2029 back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor to prevent the birth of her son, John Connor, the future leader of the Human Resistance.

In the sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Schwarzenegger’s character had a completely different role. He’s revealed to have been reprogrammed by future John Connor and sent back to 1995 to protect his young self from an advanced, shapeshifting Terminator sent to kill him. I would love to see Ritchson follow that path and see him first as an antagonist Terminator determined to kill his target before seeing him in a more heroic role, a side of him the audience is more used to.

Terminator 7 & 8 Could Reverse The Franchise’s Big Judgment Day Twist

Terminator 7 & 8 Could Do Something Different But Still On-Brand

A fun option that I would also like to see in Ritchson’s Terminator era is a reverse Judgment Day twist. With this I mean that, instead of Ritchson’s Terminator being a villain in his first movie, he could be a hero in it, giving the audience something more familiar so they can get used to seeing him as the iconic character. Then, for a potential Terminator 8, Ritchson’s Terminator could be the villain, which would also give some extra drama to the story as he was already known as a hero.

There are different paths the Terminator reboot can take while staying true to the essence of the franchise. As mentioned above, as Cameron hasn’t shared many details about his idea for the future of Terminator, it’s hard to say how different or similar the тιтle character would be, but hopefully, there will be more interesting twists and exciting stories.

Sources: SmartLess, IndieWire, Business Insider, Empire.