The new Terminator movie, the fifth entry in the franchise seemingly as unkillable as its own relentless title character, will apparently not be titled Terminator: Genesis after all. The film’s studio, Paramount Pictures, issued a press release this week in which it referred to the new, likely blockbuster simply as Terminator .
The press release came out to announce that the new movie , which fans are now calling Terminator 5 for lack of a better way of referring to it, began shooting in New Orleans earlier this week.
While New Orleans has become a de rigeur filming location for Hollywood in recent years due not as much to creative considerations as to the substantial tax breaks the state of Louisiana offers for productions to film there, the location means that the new Terminator movie will lack the distinctive Los Angeles locations that contributed heavily to the gritty-futuristic atmosphere of the first two Terminator films.
Both of those movies, 1984’s The Terminator and its 1991 sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day , were directed by James Cameron, who has not been involved with the notably inferior third and fourth entries in the Terminator series.
The director of Terminator 5 is Alan Taylor, who not only directed several episodes of the HBO fantasy drama Game of Thrones , but was also behind the camera for last year’s Marvel Comics blockbuster, Thor: The Dark World .
Most significantly, however, the new Terminator movie marks the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to the title role for the first time since he 2003 entry Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines . The first images of Schwarzenegger on the set were also released this week.
Let’s Party! A NEW Terminator film is starting TODAY! @Schwarzenegger @ParamountPics @Skydance @Emilia_Clarke pic.twitter.com/Nt1kvQhoVL
— The Arnold Fans (@TheArnoldFans) April 21, 2014
The original Terminator film made Schwarzenegger an international movie star, and he went on to become perhaps the most powerful box office draw of the 1980s. But the Austrian-born former bodybuilding champion was only 37 years old when he first donned the distinctive dark sunglasses work by the lethal cyborg.
As Terminator 5 begins filming, Schwarzenegger is 66 .
“It will be challenging because it will be a new director, and it will be a really action-packed movie,” said Schwarzenegger. “And sometimes it does get more difficult when you’re 66 years old and doing this kind of action, versus when you’re in your 30s or in your 40s.”
The film will also be a test of Schwarzenegger’s remaining box-office power. Coming off three straight bombs since leaving the California governor’s office, Paramount will be counting on “Ahnold” to revive the Terminator franchise.
The one film in the series that he missed — due to his governorship — Terminator: Salvation in 2009, earned just $125 million domestically on a $200 million budget, and only about $371 million worldwide, making that Christian Bale-topped production a financial disappointment.