Rebooting Terminator isn’t for the faint of heart, but if anyone can make Skynet scary again, it’s Neill Blomkamp. The man practically has “killer robots” on his résumé!
District 9 Proved It – Neill Blomkamp Is the Perfect Director to Revive the Terminator Franchise
The Terminator franchise is in cinematic limbo at the moment. While the release of Terminator: Dark Fate managed to recapture the attention of some mainstream outlets, the truth is that the series hasn’t received the same level of widespread acclaim as other franchises that have also been rebooted recently, like the exceptional Prey.
Perhaps one of the reasons why the Terminator series seems to be struggling to find its right audience is that the franchise has lost its focus. What once began as a dystopian action thriller about the dangers of unbridled technological advancements quickly devolved into a brainless shoot ’em up movie with an emphasis on special effects over story or character development. Over time, Terminator became a parody of itself.
Despite James Cameron’s involvement with the latest entries, the franchise still needs a solid vision that guides the plot forward – or even better, someone to introduce the world of Terminator to a new generation of fans. That someone would unmistakably be Neill Blomkamp. The South African director has something that every talented filmmaker needs to set themselves apart in the crowded entertainment industry: a solid creative vision. It’s easy to know when a movie was directed by Blomkamp by looking at a single frame: the gritty settings and the sheer lack of unnecessary flourishes are all part of his signature look.
Blomkamp doesn’t believe in creating movies for mass audiences; he believes in making films that matter to him personally. He understands what it means to make a film without any compromises. Still, the sense of identity the filmmaker has created in his movies transcends the cinematic medium, becoming a powerful tool for social commentary.
Skynet: The Terminator’s Social Commentary on War and Technology
Like many other sci-fi flicks, the original Terminator had an element of social commentary embedded at the core of its narrative. In this case, the film talks of a future where machines have outsmarted humans, underlying the pressing need for a tighter leash on technological advances.
While this message remains alive and well in the age of AI, there are some more pressing social issues that Blomkamp has already studied in some of his best works. Matters such as wealth inequality and inadequate living conditions for the working classes are usually part of Blomkamp’s films, and they would fit rather well with Skynet’s revised origins in a potential Terminator reboot. Perhaps some of his ideas for Elysium 2 could even work for a Terminator sequel.
Terminator Needs a Director Who Understands Sci-Fi Grit
Last but not least in the long list of reasons why Neill Blomkamp would make an awesome Terminator franchise, we have to keep in mind that the filmmaker is one of the best in the business when it comes to creating some of the most believable sci-fi robots in modern cinema.
Everyone remembers how lifelike the characters in Chappie looked, or how uniquely terrifying the tech in Elysium appeared. Blomkamp has a unique way of making technology look scary, and that’s something that the Terminator franchise has forgotten how to do.
The fact that the T-800 remains one of the most iconic mech designs in film history has to do with how terrifying it looks. Blomkamp proved time and time again that he understands the reasons why technology can scare us: how machinery, in its senselessness, could become so threatening if left unchecked. This is precisely what makes the concept behind the Terminators work, and that’s ultimately the reason why Neill Blomkamp is the only filmmaker with the necessary background to bring this franchise back from the scrap pile.
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Tell us, do you think that Neill Blomkamp is the perfect director for a Terminator reboot movie?
