Terminator, like Alien and Predator, is one of those beloved franchises that hasn’t produced anything of note for decades, yet remains fondly remembered, the power of the original films enough to attract second, third, sixth chances.
This is likely Terminator's final chance to attract a decent amount of moviegoers, the last few attempts were so absurdly forgettable that James Cameron has promised to remove them from canon entirely, Dark Fatetaking place directly after Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Returning to the strongest chapters of the story to start afresh is a smart approach; why bother acknowledging the convoluted narrative of hastily produced sequels if you can simply wipe the slate clean, pretend that said sequels were, essentially, expensive fan fiction?
Thankfully, Dark Fate appears to be returning to the simplicity that made the first two films so enjoyable. Time travel twists aside, the original Terminatorfilms were relatively straightforward stories of pursuit, one prolonged battle to the death between man and machine (or rather, Linda Hamilton and machine).
As compelling as Emilia Clarke was, there is only one Sarah Connor; bringing back Hamilton is one way to assure the audience that the franchise’s former greatness has not been forgotten. New machine-hybrid Mackenzie Davis (Halt and Catch Fire) shares much of the same vibes with Hamilton’s tough-as-nails Connor, while new antagonistic Terminator Gabriel Luna (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) echoes the shape-shifting villain of Judgement Day, seemingly with the new ability to clone itself.