Disney has worked hard to revitalize one of their biggest science-fiction properties in the past few years, and the recent Predator: Killer of Killers sets a great example that other franchises, including this popular James Cameron series, should look to as an example. The new Predator film is an unusual installment in format, telling several animated anthology stories set across a vast expanse of time, but it has been effective, setting a new audience record for the Predator series. With this success established, other franchises should look to this revitalizing of the Predator brand as an example.

James Cameron is arguably the most successful filmmaker of all time, and his next release, Avatar: First and Ash, is likely to be one of the year’s biggest hits. Before immersing himself so fully in the wonderful world of Pandora, however, Cameron made several other films that audiences have wished to see more of. The most popular of these has released several films over the decades since he helmed the franchise, but is now in an uncertain state. Looking to Killer of Killers, there may be a perfect way to bring that franchise back with a different direction.

Terminator Has Not Made A Great Movie Since 1991

And Has Not Made A Movie At All Since 2019’s Dark Fate

Just as the Predator series appeared just a few years ago, the Terminator movies are no longer a vital franchise. The series began with an incredible and terrifying first installment in 1984 before evolving into one of the biggest blockbusters ever with Terminator 2: Judgment Day. With Judgment Day, Cameron evolved his world into an action-packed, science-fiction playground that was rife with sequel and spinoff opportunities. Unfortunately, none of the subsequent movies have lived up to the incredible standard set by T2.

Granted, that is a high bar, and there are things to enjoy about every Terminator sequel that followed. However, audience interest in the property has waned. Similar to the Predator movies, the Terminator franchise has made several attempts at revitalizing itself, with new casts, settings, and stories. Unfortunately, none of these have been especially effective. While Terminator: Genisys made a decent, although below-expected, $432 million at the box office, it was not well-liked, and the franchise felt so tired that even Terminator: Dark Fate, which had a mostly positive audience reception, could not lure viewers back.

Terminator Zero Was On The Right Track, But Failed To Make Much Of An Impact

Terminator Has Found Some Success On Television And Streaming

Some of the strongest Terminator projects in recent memory were made for television, not theaters. Many consider Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles to be among the best sequels in the series, and the brand found a small revitalization with last year’s release of Terminator Zero. The recent anime series made some excellent choices with the lore, and the audience mostly liked it, although it is unclear how successful it was for Netflix. Discussions have occurred surrounding a Terminator Zero season 2, but nothing has yet materialized.

Taking a Terminator story and giving it a new setting, like Zero did, sets a great precedent for the future of the franchise. The film series had an obsession with retelling resistance leader John Connor’s story, but this became tired after so many attempts. Ancillary material has expanded the world of the machines, including Terminator comics, which told stories about other characters and other trips through time. Dark Fate attempted to do the same thing, but its semi-remake qualities, including the plot, might have skewed a little too close to the original film.

An Animated Anthology Terminator Film Would Be Incredible

The Franchise Could Go To All Kinds Of Settings, And A Digital Release Would Take Off Some Pressure

Terminator could still be a viable theatrical franchise, but it will need to earn back audience trust before that occurs. Even if a great Terminator movie was released today, it would struggle at the box office due to the franchise’s reputation. Like with the Predator timeline, the series must win back trust, and streaming releases telling shorter, varied stories could be an effective way to do this. This would allow the series to expand the scope of its world with several animated installments set across different places and timelines.

The best thing about Predator: Killer of Killers is that each of its segments would still have been effective stories even if there was no Predator involved. Terminator, just like this, should envision interesting stories from different eras of the industrial age, or even before, where Terminators could be sent back in time for purposes unrelated to John Connor. They could be attempting to set up a new dominion in an earlier age, or to quash the resistance before it has any technology to fight back, or there could be time-hopping stories of chases through time, involving both humans and machines.

The Terminator franchise has made money over the years, but its returns have diminished. This does not have to be the case, as there is so much potential for the prescient series, especially in this modern era of artificial intelligence. Taking Terminators and sending them throughout history could be such an interesting path forward for the series, and using animated streaming releases to build back interest in the brand would be effective. Whatever period or setting – the Middle Ages, the 1920s, the Song dynasty, or something else altogether – this would be the perfect way to keep the machines alive.