James Cameron courted a lot of criticism when he commented on Wonder Woman‘s success at the box office and the character’s reflection of female roles in Hollywood. The Avatar director called the film a “step backward,” comparing it to Linda Hamilton and Sarah Connor. While Patty Jenkins called his opinion misguided in a statement released online, Cameron seems to be ready to take his stance to the next level by returning to The Terminator franchise and bringing back Sarah Connor with him.
Linda Hamilton, Cameron’s former wife and the actress that originated the character, is returning to the series as an older, tougher, wiser mother of the future. For the director, it is his attempt to make a statement according to The Hollywood Reporter:
Cameron made the announcement at a private event celebrating the storied franchise, saying, “As meaningful as she was to gender and action stars everywhere back then, it’s going to make a huge statement to have that seasoned warrior that she’s become return.”
With Hamilton’s return, Cameron hopes to once again make a statement on gender roles in action movies.
“There are 50-year-old, 60-year-old guys out there killing bad guys,” he said, referring to aging male actors still anchoring movies, “but there isn’t an example of that for women.”
Cameron is only the producer on the film, backing up Deadpool director Tim Miller on the film, and Hamilton will be joined by Arnold Schwarzenegger for another entry as the T-800. While this means we’re about to forced to try and find excitement for another Terminator reboot, Cameron does hope to be able to use the returning stars to pass the torch in a way according to The Hollywood Reporter:
“We’re starting a search for an 18-something woman to be the new centerpiece of the new story,” Cameron said. “We still fold time. We will have characters from the future and the present. There will be mostly new characters but we’ll have Arnold and Linda’s characters to anchor it.”
Cameron is also busy attempting to bring four Avatar sequels to the screen, so it remains to be seen how much involvement he will have with this film in the end.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
