Had Alan Taylor’s Terminator Genisys not been a critical failure and a commercial disappointment, the plan was to release an additional two instalments in the trilogy and even a tie-in TV series. However, after grossing only $440 million worldwide (a big chunk of which came from China, and not North America), Paramount is said to be “re-adjusting” their plans. In fact, the sequel has been removed from their release schedule, and it seems like that “re-adjusting” process will have to include finding a new cast.
Talking recently to promote the upcoming sixth season of Game of Thrones, Terminator Genisys star Emilia Clarke ruled out a return as Sarah Connor.
“No… Can I say that? It’s okay. No. Uh-uh. But I have some very different roles coming up.”
The actress clearly didn’t sign a contract to come back for a follow-up then, or if she did, she’s willing to accept whatever penalties come with refusing to do another. You really can’t blame her, either, given that Terminator Genisys is the kind of movie which definitely hurt her career away from Westeros; in fact, no one involved really emerged unscathed from the critically panned disaster.
What’s next for the Terminator franchise is currently a mystery, but it will be interesting to see how they try to salvage it after the negative response to the past three instalments.