James Cameron Regretted $261M Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie That Brought a $2B Franchise to its Knees

James Cameron Regretted $261M Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie That Brought a $2B Franchise to its Knees
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James Cameron returned to the sci-fi action film series years after in its sixth and final film, Terminator: Dark Fate. The film, as its name supposed, turned out to be the franchise’s dark fate as its failure at the box office led to the demise of the Terminator series and any further sequels under it. Cameron, who laid its foundation with the 1984 film, had high hopes to once again work with the Hollywood star and his friend Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

However, after its massive failure, the Titanic director shared that he regrets some of the decisions he made for the 2019 film. During an interview, he reflected on which decision could have caused the film to be a box office bomb.

Read More: “I wish I could’ve done them both”: Leonardo DiCaprio Regrets Missing Out $43M Indie Movie to Act in James Cameron’s Titanic That Made Him Hollywood’s Heartthrob

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James Cameron Regrets Decisions He Made For Dark Fate

During an interview with Deadline, James Cameron reflected on things that could have potentially led to the 2019 movie’s failure at the box office. When he joined Tim Miller’s 2019 film as a producer, Cameron had some exclusive demands for the film. The Aliens director had an idea that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be disappointed if he made the film without him.

James Cameron
James Cameron

So, he insisted on having him back in the 2019 film as T-800. However, director Tim Miller was against the idea and wanted to bring back Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. Cameron shared that it could have been why the movie failed at the box office.

He said that having “60-something,” and “70-something” lead stars made it more of a “granddad’s Terminator movie.” The Avatar director claimed that he planned the film to be a direct sequel to the 1991 sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and he found it very cool and liked the movie when he initially watched it.

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Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

However, he did not consider that the audience for the 2019 film “wouldn’t even have been born for another ten years” at the time of the 1991 film. He also mentioned that he was in his own “myopia” and that is where things went wrong.

Read More: Brendan Fraser’s $243 Million Movie Forced James Cameron to Build $5.2 Billion Avatar Franchise

James Cameron on Leaving the Terminator Franchise

James Cameron left the sci-fi action franchise after the release of the second film in 1991. The first two films under the franchise have been one of the best action films of all time. However, films followed by the 1992 sequel have not been able to live up to the standard set by Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

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James Cameron
James Cameron

Although he was already working on a third film in the series, he decided to leave the franchise for food after Mario Kassar and Andy Vajna bought the rights to the franchise. During an interview, he shared that he doesn’t regret his decision to leave the film series, but still has to live with its consequences.

“I’d evolved beyond it. I don’t regret that, but I have to live with the consequence, which is that I keep seeing it resurrected.”

A still from Terminator (2019)
A still from Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

Although he has mentioned that if he does another Terminator film, he will relaunch the series, focusing on the AI side of the story. Cameron is now busy with his blockbuster franchise, Avatar, and is working on a threequel in the sci-fi film series.

Terminator: Dark Fate is available to stream on Disney+.

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Read More: “He didn’t want to be part of it “: James Cameron Wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $433 Million Movie to Fail

Source: Deadline

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Written by Laxmi Rajput

Articles Published: 2094

Laxmi Rajput is a writer at Fandomwire. She finished her Post Graduation in Broadcast Journalism and worked as a Business News writer for a year. But her interest in entertainment and pop culture compelled her to find a way towards Entertainment Journalism. She has worked across various fields and has 2 years of experience in content writing. She likes reading, music, movies, and traveling. She aspires to become a fiction writer in the future.