That's what James Cameron called it. He recently appeared as a guest at the Aero in Santa Monica for a Q&A, and discussed what it was like to see a franchise he originated continue with other directors. (You can hear the clip at Movieline and the entire podcast at MarketSaw.) Cameron admitted he had already reconciled himself to the fact that he'd see a Terminator sequel one day that didn't have anything to do with him, and suggested that Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wanted to continue with T3, ask for a whopping amount of money for his work. After all, Cameron couldn't fathom them making a sequel without Arnie... which begs the question, was it really a stupid idea?
Cameron wasn't exactly bashing Salvation, and it was all probably said in good fun, but making a Terminator sequel without Arnold would've been inevitable. Let's face it. Arnold's getting old. Even if he never became the Governator and were to keep starring as the Terminator, he'd be all CGed in the end anyway. His likeness was briefly used as the T-800, and IMHO, it didn't look so bad. Although the critics gave Salvation mixed reviews, audiences love the action; it keeps a "Go" rating on Fandango and still has a "Fresh" rating with Rotten Tomatoes Community. So with or without Arnold—and even the father of the franchise—the war against the machines rages lucratively on.
What do you think?
