Universal wants Justin Lin to direct next Terminator film?

Justin Lin is finding himself in the driver's seat lately, thanks to his highly profitable work crafting the last three Fast and the Furious flicks for Universal Pictures.  In fact, his success could possibly force him to cross paths with a certain ex-California governor looking to make his way back into acting.  According to Deadline, Lin is Universal's choice to head up the next flick in the much loved Terminator franchise. 


Ever since the disappointing results from 2009's Terminator Salvation, most of the activity surrounding the franchise has been behind the scenes. You might recall all the bankruptcy stuff from last year(covered only very briefly here because me and numbers don't mix), but the end result was that the Terminator rights ended up in the hands of Pacificor.  With that outcome, the connection to the last film(distributed by Columbia Pictures and Warner Brothers), the first part of a proposed trilogy directed by McG, was essentially severed. So what could the Lin-helmed flick possibly be about? 

Well, the answer to that question remains unclear.  The biggest thing is that whatever shape it takes, there's a serious clamoring to get Arnold Schwarzenegger back in leather jackets and metal exo-skeletons. With the Governator stating his desire to jump back into acting, his participation in any Terminator film is a no brainer. Universal would want to pair Lin up with his Furious screenwriter, Chris Morgan(who also wrote Wanted), but Lin might be tied up with the Highlander relaunch. Pacifico hasn't struck a deal with Universal or anybody else for distribution rights, so who knows how this will play out.  And even if this does come together, would they just ignore Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Salvation? 

Well let's hope not. Afterall, there are still the treatments for possible fifth and sixth Terminator movies, written by Terminator co-creator William Wisher. Those have been floating around for well over a year now, and would continue with the Terminator Salvation world.  Thanks to Deadline for the reminder about those, and a refresher on exactly what they entail....

His version continued the post-apocalyptic battleground scenario from Terminator Salvation, but added in the element of time travel. There was a reunion for Sarah Conner and Kyle Reese beyond their brief encounter in the original, and a role for Schwarzenegger in the finale. There were also plenty of hi-tech killers, including a swarm of “Night Crawlers,” 4 1/2-foot tall border sentries that are set like mines to spring up out of the ground and ambush rebel fighters with 10 MM pistols built into their wrists, and fingers and feet that are razor sharp. Also fresh off the Skynet assembly line in Wisher’s version are new shape-shifting cyborgs that can morph together in Transformers-like mode, and are more lethal than anything seen in previous Terminator installments. The blueprint also set out a resolution in mankind’s struggle with Skynet.

Hard to believe anybody would want to abandon a franchise that could potentially see Christian Bale duking it out with Arnold Schwarzenegger.