Terminator: Genesis May Add Spider-Man’s J.K. Simmons

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

simmonsWill Terminator: Genesis be able to bring the Terminator film franchise back to the glory days of Terminator 2: Judgment Day? The franchise has seen some highs and lows over the years, but its new producer, Skydance Productions’ David Ellison, is trying to combine the old with the new in a trilogy that will incorporate elements of the original movies. Now Genesis has added yet another top-notch actor to its roster, one who is perhaps best known for his hatred of Spider-Man.

According to THR, Terminator: Genesis is looking to cast J.K. Simmons as an “alcoholic detective, who has spent three decades following the strange case of Sarah Connor.” Three decades would point to the events of the original Terminator film in 1984, so it seems that at least part of the film’s story will take place in modern times. However, it still doesn’t explain why the new movie’s Sarah Connor is so young and why the actor playing her son is much older than her.

Timetravel

J.K. Simmons is best known as playing J. Jonah Jameson in the first three Spider-Man movies for director Sam Raimi. He also appeared as Mac MacGuff in the movie Juno in 2007, and Assistant Chief Will Pope in the TNT’s The Closer. Simmons is currently the voice of the Airbender Tenzin on The Legend of Korra. He’s also the voice of the Yellow M&M in the popular TV commercials for the tasty chocolate treat.

Terminator: Genesis found its Sarah Connor with Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke, and its John Conner in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes‘ Jason Clarke (no relation). Divergent‘s Jai Courtney has been tapped to play Kyle Reese, originally played by Michael Biehn. Although there are no confirmed plot details for Genesis yet, time travel seems to be a given, with rumor suggesting its characters will leap through time and into the earlier storylines of the Terminator movies. It could also give the new trilogy its own identity without negating the original films, just like in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot.

Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry) wrote the film’s screenplay, and the pair will also serve as executive producers on the Terminator TV series that will tie into the new film trilogy. Screenwriters Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller (X-Men: First Class, Thor) will write episodes for the show that will tie directly into the film trilogy. Stentz and Miller will also most likely be the series’ showrunners. Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones, Thor: The Dark World) will direct. Terminator: Genesis hits theaters everywhere on July 1, 2015.