I Know Now Why You Shrug: The ‘Terminator Genisys’ Sequel Has Been Seemingly Cancelled
And just like that, theTerminatorfranchise may be finally, officially dead. For now.
Following poor box office, turgid reviews, and an audience response that amounted to little more than a shrug,Paramounthas pulled the planned sequel toTerminator Genisysoff its calendar. In its place is the upcomingBaywatchmovie, which should allow you fully appreciate just how little faith the studio has in this once-mighty franchise. There is only one possible direction for this series to go next: a full-on remake in 2030 or so. It truly feels like all other options have been exhausted.
The news first came to our attention via The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit, who wasn’t shy about sharing his opinion on this news. And we won’t be shy either – this was clearly the right choice.
More release news: Paramount takes TERMINATOR SEQUEL off the calendar. (Thank goodness!)
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit)June 17, 2025
We’ve known thatTerminator Genisys 2(or whatever they planned on calling the next movie) was in trouble since it opened last summer, only grossing $89 million at the domestic box office. Although it ultimatelydid pretty solid business worldwide, those American numbers proved awfully hard to ignore and the sequels were supposedly put on hold “indefinitely.” Then the word came down that the next movie was still in the works, but it was getting a “re-adjustment,” which certainly sounds like code for “Oh my God, how do we fix this?” Now, months later, the answer is clearly that you don’t. you may only beat a dead horse so many times before its rotting flesh crumbles underneath your fists.
Let’s face it. This is probably for the best. If the return of starArnold Schwarzeneggerto his most iconic franchise couldn’t rally the fans, then nothing will. And to be fair, the Austrian Oak was the best part ofGenisys, which was ultimately brought down by just about everything else, especially a screenplay that went out of its way to erase the only two good movies in the series from its timeline. The first twoTerminatorfilms are legitimate masterpieces that hold up brilliantly today – the wayGenisysgleefully kicks them out of canon is downright insulting.
Like so many (too many) movies these days,Terminator Genisyswas originally pitched as the first in a new trilogy… which HitFix writer Drew McWeeny reminded us (as part of a much larger and very entertaining Twitter rant) was also the pitch for the Schwarzenegger-lessTerminator: Salvationand the not-quite-as-bad-as-you-rememberTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
The last three TERMINATOR films have been a trilogy of “first film in an unfinished trilogy” films. Arf. Arf. Arf.#suchabrokenfranchise
— Drew McWeeny (@DrewMcWeeny)August 26, 2025
And then IGN writer Eric Goldman chimed in with an excellent point.
In a way, they ARE a trilogy though, right?#DeepThoughtshttps://t.co/WTBKxGEhcs
— Eric Goldman (@TheEricGoldman)June 21, 2025
Yep, a trilogy of first chapters that don’t entice you into wanting to know what happens next. How truly, brutally sad.
We probably haven’t seen the end of theTerminatorfranchise. They will make another one. Eventually. It may take a long time. It may come in the form of aRoboCop-esque remake that doesn’t even try to exist in the same universe in the other movies. It will happen. But for now, it looks likeTerminator Genisyshas dealt the killing blow to a series that’s been on life support for more than a decade. After all, the last movie didn’t make Paramount happy, it didn’t make fans happy, and it certainly didn’t make Joe Schmoe moviegoer happy. Clinging to a series just because the name is famous is a fool’s errand.
In the meantime, we can look forward toBaywatchonMay 19, 2017. It’s going to starDwayne JohnsonandZac Efron. That sounds like fun, right?
