James Cameron’sThe Terminatoris an untouchable sci - fi noir masterpiece that the manager deal to match with a large , bolder sequel , Terminator 2 : Judgment Day , that transitioned into full - on action - pack spectacle andraised the stakes by tweaking the pattern . Since then , the enfranchisement has pump out four movies , all of which have paled in comparability to the original two , copyingT2 ’s convention with diminishing tax return .

After last year’sDark Fateproved that even Cameron himself ca n’t relieve the franchise , it might be best to just stop theTerminatorseries . But as with any potentially profitable intellectual property , Hollywood wo n’t let that bump . Some director could make a greatTerminatormovie , while others have been view for them in the past .

Almost Did: Ridley Scott

When James Cameron lost interest in directing a thirdTerminatormovie and move on to helmTitanic , the studio need Ridley Scott to take his spot , but he was busy withBlack Hawk Down .

It would ’ve been poetic for Scott to helm a sequel to a Cameron moving-picture show , becauseCameron had so much success makingAliens , a sequel to Scott’sAlien .

Should: James Mangold

With Wolverine ’s swansongLogan , James Mangold prove he can deconstruct a well - worn mythos for a satisfying conclusion to a long - play story bow , and withFord v Ferrari , he proved he can encounter the general theme in any account .

These are both elements that theTerminatorfranchise needs right now . The idea have n’t rung dependable sinceT2and after years of disappointing sequel , the series needs a secure ending .

Almost Did: John McTiernan

John McTiernan was one of the filmmakers conceive to take the director ’s chair forTerminator 3 : Rise of the Machinesafter James Camerondropped out to concentrate onTitanic .

McTiernan is one of the most acclaimed action directors of all time , having helmed such classic asDie Hard(the female parent of all action movies),Predator , andThe Hunt for Red October .

Should: David Leitch

Beginning as an uncredited carbon monoxide - director on the originalJohn Wickmovie , David Leitch has made a name for himself as one of the best action movie maker around . He ’s helmed both substantial individual movies likeAtomic Blondeand satisfy dealership entries likeDeadpool 2andHobbs & Shaw .

Leitch ’s background in stunts ensures that his legal action scenes are among the most nonrational in heavy - budget Hollywood movies . If he helmed aTerminatormovie , he could use as many virtual effects as possible to stab the enfranchisement out of its bland CG - heavy estrus .

Almost Did: Justin Lin

When the fifthTerminatormovie was first in exploitation and Universal was interested inbringing back Arnold Schwarzenegger as the dealership lead , the studio wanted to lease theFast & Furiousteam of director Justin Lin and screenwriter Chris Morgan .

By the fourth dimension a marriage offer was put together , Morgan was dropped from the task . finally , Lin was dropped , too , andThor : The Dark Worlddirector Alan Taylor was tapped to directTerminator : Genisys .

Should: Guillermo Del Toro

Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro is a master copy of using music genre fib asa prism through which to deliver social commentary , fromPan ’s Labyrinth ’s critique of the devastating effects of state of war toThe Shape of Water ’s meditation on the senselessness of prejudice .

Del Toro can also deliver the goods in an natural action - pack blockbuster likeHellboyorBlade II , so he ’d be a great option to continue theTerminatorsaga .

Almost Did: Michael Bay

Michael Bay turned down the chance to directTerminator 3 : Rise of the Machinesback in hisBad Boys II - geological era prime , although he did finally work out on a different dealership about robots from the ‘ 80s .

ATerminatormovie directed by Bay certainly would ’ve been explosive . It probably would ’ve looked like aTransformersmovie if the robots were all human - sized and could n’t turn into railroad car .

Should: Alex Garland

While Pete Travis is the credited director of 2012’sDredd , Karl Urban has said that Alex Garland directed so much of the final cut in the reshoots thatit might as well be weigh as his directorial debut . The violence in that movie is both hard - R brutal and tinged with mentation - arouse sci - fi   concepts – two elements that made the violence in the first twoTerminatormovies so much fun .

Garland ’s official directorial credit , Ex MachinaandAnnihilation , are both contemplative genre pieces with fascinating meditations on engineering and “ the other . ” He ’d be perfect for aTerminatormovie .

Almost Did: Ang Lee

Ang Lee was offered the prospect to directTerminator 3 : Rise of the Machines , but he sour it down so as to focus his efforts onHulk , which is now commend as one of the film director ’s worst moving picture .

While the overall timber ofGemini Mansuggests that Lee would n’t have made a in particular greatTerminatormovie , he did makeLife of Pi , a crowing - budget blockbuster with much keen effects thanHulk .

Should: Denis Villeneuve

If anyone can make aTerminatormovie thatlives up to James Cameron ’s initial two outings , it ’s Denis Villeneuve . If he can make a square sequel toBlade Runner , he can make a comforting sequel toT2 . The greatest strength ofBlade Runner 2049is thatits spirit was consistent with the original , while its game like an expert expanded on the worldbuilding .

TheTerminatorfranchise could really employ that after so many directors have gotten it wrong . Villeneuve would be perfectly suited to aTerminatormovie set after Judgment Day ( in other words , exterminator : Salvation , but good ) .

NEXT:5 Directors Who Almost Helmed A Fast & Furious Movie ( & 5 Who Should )

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Terminator - featured image

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Alicia Vikander in a hallway in Ex Machina

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Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049 wearing a nose bandage

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