Terminator 7 may not sound like a good idea considering the failure of the previous four movies, but the 7th installment can still succeed if it fulfills 1 important condition. Created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd, the Terminator franchise includes six movies, among which the most recent one premiered in 2019. While the original first two movies, directed by James Cameron, were incredibly successful and played a significant role in revolutionizing the sci-fi genre on the big screen, the last four movies of the franchise did not come close to matching the originals' high standards.
Television extensions of the Terminator universe have also tried recreating the chills and thrills of the original James Cameron with their depiction of John Conor's war against Skynet's self-aware synthetic intelligence. Unfortunately, they, too, have failed to leave their mark. Since James Cameron has confirmed that he is working on the script for a new installment of the Terminator movie franchise, it is hard not to speculate how one element could make or break Terminator 7.
Terminator 7's Story Is More Relevant Thanks To Real-Life AI
The recent developments in artificial intelligence, especially in the language models space, have revived the world's fascination with all the potential ways humanity can interact with technology. However, these technological advancements in AI also instill a sense of novelty and uncertainty because of the ethical considerations of future AI and how it could even displace many jobs. Given how exciting and equally terrifying these AI-centric discussions can be, they seem to have all the ingredients for compelling fictional storytelling, especially for movies like Terminator that use AI as a narrative device.
With its ability to process vast information and identify patterns and algorithms, artificial intelligence is gradually traversing into every industry. This makes it nearly impossible for the general public to avoid having any exposure to it. As more and more people become aware of AI's inner workings, functions, and implications in the real world, movies like Terminator garner more relevancy because of their AI-centric themes. Owing to these developments, it is not surprising that James Cameron himself acknowledged how he has stepped back from writing Terminator 7's new script to see how AI plays out.
Terminator 7 Can Only Revive The Franchise On 1 Condition
For movies like Terminator 7, AI's popularity is a double-edged sword. While it allows the film franchise to leverage the awareness surrounding the subject, it also prevents it from reusing the tropes and themes of the previous installments that may not be as relevant and realistic as they once were. Therefore, Terminator 7 can only effectively revive the franchise if it keeps its AI storylines grounded in reality, perhaps something along the lines of Ex-Machina. While Terminator 7 can do a lot to achieve this, it could delve into the threats of autonomous weaponry systems, the rise of deep fake technologies, and even the dire consequences of unchecked AI super-intelligence.
