Before Captain Marvel hit theaters, Linda Hamilton played iconic female action hero Sarah Connor in Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Those movies were instant classics, but the following sequels failed to live up to expectations: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (the one with Kristanna Loken as the T-X), Terminator: Salvation (the one without Arnold Schwarzenegger, but with Christian Bale), and Terminator: Genisys (the one with Dany from Game of Thrones as Sarah Connor).
But don't worry, Terminator fans - the franchise isn't saying "hasta la vista" just yet. After 25 years away from Skynet, Hamilton is returning to play Sarah Connor in the sixth film, Terminator: Dark Fate. And there's reason to be cautiously optimistic: The story will pick up directly after 1992's Terminator: Judgement, including the previous three entries. Also, it's directed by Deadpool's Chris Miller, and produced by T1 and T2 director James Cameron.
At CinemaCon, Linda Hamilton slammed the three previous Terminator movies. "They’re very forgettable, aren’t they?” she told Variety‘s Marc Malkin. "You start something and you’re invested in the franchise, but somehow the characters that you care about weren’t there. Too many people, too many story points. So I think we’ve done a good job of narrowing down the focus again so it will echo the first two films."
When asked if she was hesitant to return to the franchise, the 62-year-old said, "I gave it probably six weeks of intense thinking and consideration before deciding to do it. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. I didn’t want it to look like a shameless money grab. I am living this quiet, lovely life that doesn’t involve being a celebrity, and you really have to think, do I really want to trade that in again for another 15 minutes?"
The official synopsis for 'Dark Fates' states: "Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (T-800) return in their iconic roles in Terminator: Dark Fate, directed by Tim Miller (Deadpool) and produced by visionary filmmaker James Cameron and David Ellison. Following the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator: Dark Fate also stars Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, and Diego Boneta."
Unfortunately, there's no word on what's going on with John Connor, who was memorably played in Terminator 2 by Edward Furlong. Due to battles with substance abuse and alcoholism, his acting career derailed, although he does continue to book parts, according to his IMDB. It would have been cool to see Furlong return at John, but hey, at least Linda Hamilton is back, right? Here are some images of characters in the film, which were released at CinemaCon.
Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor Natalie Reyes as 'Dani Ramos' MacKenzie Davis as 'Grace' and Arnold Schwarzenegger as 'The Terminator'Terminator: Dark Fate will be released in theaters on November 1, 2019.
