Michael Fleming of Variety has the details:
In a move that puts three more installments of "Terminator" on a fast track, newly formed The Halcyon Company has bought out all rights to the cyborg franchise from C2 partners Mario Kassar and Andrew Vajna for an undisclosed amount.
Halcyon, a privately funded company...acquired the right to produce films, future merchandising and licensing ventures. They also get any participation that Kassar and Vajna would have been entitled to for licensing the rights in a spinoff deal for "The Sarah Connor Chronicles," a Warner Bros.-produced series that is awaiting pickup by FBC. They also get any future C3 revenues that will come in from "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."
The beachhead of the venture is "Terminator 4," a project that already has a script by "T3" writers John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris. It has been crafted as the first leg in a trilogy. That project will be spearheaded by its producer, Moritz Borman, the former CEO of Intermedia Films who was exec producer of "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."....
After the two films directed by creator James Cameron and the last one by Jonathan Mostow -- and a popular 3-D attraction that is a mainstay at the Universal Theme Parks, the obvious question is: how much juice remains in the franchise?
The new backers feel there is plenty, but the pump will be primed by a new film that will attempt to reinvent the franchise with new cast and plotlines, ploys that worked for Batman and James Bond...
"The Terminator franchise represents by far the most popular and successful franchise not owned by a major studio," [Halcyon's Victor] Kubicek said. "We see this global franchise as a cornerstone of Halcyon's future business plans."
Though no director or cast has yet been secured,"Terminator 4" is being earmarked for a summer, 2009 release. No deals have been made for distribution or financing, but there are pre-existing negotiating positions for MGM, Warner Bros., Sony and Japanese distributor Toho Towa, each of whom was involved in "T3," a film which grossed over $430 million worldwide.
That film ended as young John Connor watched from the safety of a bunker as the nuclear apocalypse unfold and war began against the cyborgs. The "T4" script, which has been kept under tight wraps, picks up when Connor in his 30s, and leading what's left of the human race against the machines, sources said. It is unclear whether Arnold Schwarzenegger will return even for a cameo, as the film is likely to go into production while he is still in the Governor's Mansion.
"With T3, we included many incidental details and plot points that, along with the main narrative, set the stage for an entirely new set of inter-related stories covering the future adventures of John Connor and the Terminators," Borman said. "This new Terminator trilogy will build upon the already huge worldwide Terminator fan base, which was both revitalized and expanded with the global success of T3."
A new trilogy--That's quite a bold move for an upstart company to make..I could see them testing the waters with one more go round..Arnold Schwarzenegger was such a big reason for the previous success in the series. Can they really mine a trio of flicks from what's left over in his wake? With a TV show set in that universe also on the way? A new trilogy is a tall order...
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