The Terminator franchise has been through several stages throughout the years, from James Cameron’s widely acclaimed originals to the more polarizing modern sequels, but there’s no denying that it’s currently in somewhat of a rut. Both critically and commercially, the recent Terminator movies haven’t even come close to the early movies’ success, which has led many audiences to consider the franchise ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Most Terminator films haven’t capitalized on their potential, leaving audiences unsure whether the series has a future.

One of the most obvious reasons for the Terminator franchise’s decline in quality is the absence of James Cameron, whose fingerprints can be seen all over the first two movies. While he’s been involved with the scripts of certain Terminator sequels, it’s been over three decades since Cameron has actually directed one of these films – and none of the subsequent filmmakers have quite matched his vision. In fact, James Cameron has even voiced concerns about the Terminator series’ future, claiming that it needs to move on from his original story to survive.

After Multiple Failures, I Thought The Terminator Franchise Might Be Better Off ᴅᴇᴀᴅ

There Hasn’t Been A Good Sequel For A Long Time

There’s no denying that James Cameron’s early Terminator movies are some of the best sci-fi films ever made, but it’s equally true that the later installments in this franchise are mostly disappointing. Projects such as Terminator: Genisys and Terminator: Salvation admittedly have some strengths (namely their excellent casts), but the narratives don’t even come close to the creative, innovative storytelling of the first three films. The series has become fairly underwhelming in recent years, and I wasn’t entirely convinced that there was a way back for The Terminator.

There’s clearly something that just doesn’t work about the later Terminator sequels, whether that’s their distance from the original stories or their reliance on action and special effects instead of the rich, layered writing of Cameron’s originals. Terminator: Dark Fate certainly marked a step in the right direction with its exciting callbacks to the first movie, but even that sequel ultimately crumbled under the pressure that had been placed upon it. When discussions started about Terminator 7, it seemed like a terrible idea from the beginning.

The Electric State Makes Me Want To See Terminator 7 More

The Film Has Themes Very Reminiscent Of The Terminator

Although Netflix’s The Electric State received fairly poor reviews, certain aspects of the story reminded me strongly of the Terminator franchise and reignited my excitement for the upcoming seventh movie. The movie deals with an ongoing conflict between humans and machines (specifically artificial intelligence), which is something that’s always been at the center of James Cameron’s Terminator movies. There are some really interesting ideas at play, although The Electric State doesn’t always develop them as deeply as it should.

What Joe & Anthony Russo’s movie does do, however, is highlight that there’s a fascinating discussion to be had within the sci-fi genre about the future of humanity and our complex relationship with AI. In the right hands, this story and the ideas within it could have been something really engaging and boundary-pushing – and there aren’t many more capable hands than James Cameron’s. The Electric State hinted at just how brilliant a well-made, big-budget movie about humans and machines could be, even if it didn’t quite get there by itself.

Terminator 7 Probably Won’t Happen For Close To A Decade If James Cameron Directs It

The Director Is Currently Busy With Avatar

Unfortunately, the idea of James Cameron directing another Terminator movie seems very unlikely at the moment. The director is currently tied up with the ongoing Avatar franchise, which is going to be in production until at least the early 2030s. With Avatar: Fire and Ash releasing later this year, it’s going to be a long time before James Cameron has the free time to make Terminator 7 work. And since Avatar is clearly such a pᴀssion project for the filmmaker, it’s unlikely that yet another Terminator sequel will be able to drag him away from the franchise.

But if James Cameron isn’t available to direct Terminator 7, then it probably shouldn’t happen any time soon. Multiple directors have tried their hands at the franchise over the years, with talented filmmakers like Alan Taylor and Tim Miller both trying their best and ultimately coming up short. The franchise clearly isn’t at its best when James Cameron isn’t behind the camera, so the obvious solution is to wait until (if ever) he’s available to breathe some new life into the sequel.