A couple of months back we heard that Arnie was eyeing up a return to acting (well I suppose it almost counts as acting..) and then a few weeks ago we found out that Terminator 5 was in the works. So when we think about it, this is the most inevitable news story since the England football team went to Amsterdam for the weekend. Yes folks, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be returning to the Terminator franchise.
Arnie has been in talks with director Justin Lin about a possible appearance recently and it seems that those talks were rather productive because the Governator has confirmed that he’s on board.
Apparently Lin, Arnie, and producer Robert Cort then put together a package they sent out to studios yesterday afternoon with Universal, Sony, CBS Films and Lionsgate showing the most interest in the movie that would return Arnie to his career defining role at the age of 63, according to Deadline.
This news is the first big move on the franchise since hedge fund company Pacificor bought the rights to The Terminator property last February for $30 million, so a deal would need to be struck with them before shooting began. But that’s not the only obstacle for Arnie’s seemingly impossible return.
In a series of events which makes that whole “So Reece is John’s dad?” argument seem elementary, Hemdale own a share of the North American rights they bought from creator James Cameron and they aren’t due to expire until 2018. Previous rights holders Halcyon (who made 2009′s Terminator Salvation) are also due $5 million whenever a new Terminator movie is made.
So a Hollywood major is already going to lay down at least $30 million in pay-offs before they write a single cheque for talent, CGI and industrial explosives.
