Justin Lin Talks Terminator 5

Director Justin Lin recently spoke with MTV about his plans for Terminator 5, and while he didn’t mention his Fast and Furious franchise friend Vin Diesel, he did confirm that he’s been talking with the original Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, saying, “I’ve talked to Arnold and I feel like there’s a take that I’m excited about, a ‘Terminator’ movie there that I’ve always wanted to see and I still haven’t seen.”

While there’s a good chance the aged Arnold might be back for another stint as the indestructible (if slightly rusty) cyborg, Lin shoots down the rumors that Terminator 5 will be reuniting the cast from the earlier films. “No. I don’t know where that came from. Everything has just been between me and Arnold, you know? Just us going out and trying to find the right partners. I have certain elements, but it’s never been about, ‘Hey, let’s bring everybody back!’ I just don’t process that way. To me, thematically, there are certain things that I want to see in a ‘Terminator’ movie. A lot of that does draw back to creating this timeline that is an extension, closer tonally to the first and second movies. But to me, it’s not as mathematical as, ‘Hey, let’s get everybody back together and we’ll shoot the movie.’”

The man behind Fast Five also says fans of the franchise shouldn’t expect him treat the continuity of the earlier films as something set in stone, saying the great thing about the films is that time-travel allows for a lot of different timelines that can be played with.

Of course, the success of Fast Five means a sequel (Fast Six?) is inevitable, so Lin doesn’t know which idea he’s going to run with first. “We’re talking to different studios, but it has to be the right situation. If it’s not right, then I could totally move on and I should move on. Probably in the next three or four weeks, I’ll have a very clear picture [of what my next movie will be].”

Which film do you think Lin should focus on first? Should he stick with the fresh success of Fast Five or dust off the Terminator storyline? Or possibly do like an earlier rumor hinted at and combine the two, bringing Vin Diesel over as either a cyborg killer or a killer of cyborgs?

If you haven’t looked into why Fast Five is burning up the box office, check out Eli’s review to see if it might be something you want to watch.