Terminator: Genesis Might Cast Zero Dark Thirty’s Jason Clarke As The New John Connor
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With all the developments happening around Terminator 5, it definitely sounds like the rekindled film series has some ambitious plans in the works. Skydance Productions and Annapurna Pictures are taking the Terminator film franchise and they’re turning it into a cinematic universe, just like the Marvel and X-Men film franchises, with a tie-in TV series in the works as well. Now the series might have found a rising star to take on the iconic role of John Connor, savior of humanity.
According to Movies.com, Australian actor Jason Clarke might take on the role of Connor, the leader of the human resistance against Skynet and the Terminator machines in the future. If so, Clarke would be the second actor to be cast in the new series, after the returning Arnold Schwarzenegger. Actresses Brie Larson and Emilia Clarke (no relation) are the frontrunners for the Sarah Connor role.
Clarke was in last year’s Zero Dark Thirty and will appear in the upcoming sequel film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for director Matt Reeves. This past year, Clarke was featured in Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. He’s a great choice for John Connor!
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Isn’t the 44-year-old Jason Clarke much older than the 24-year-old Brie Larson and the 26-year-old Emilia Clarke? How can he play Sarah Connor’s son? While no plot details are confirmed for Terminator: Genesis, this is a franchise about time travel, after all. Perhaps this go-round John Connor goes back in time to save his mother from the T-800, rather than Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn). It’s rumored that Genesis will take place in the same universe as James Cameron’s original Terminator film, but it will take a different approach than that seminal film. It sounds like Terminator 5 might take place in an alternate reality, just like J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot series.
Skydance and Annapurna recently announced that a new Terminator TV series is in the works, with screenwriters Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller (X-Men: First Class, Thor) penning the show, while Terminator 5 screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier will serve as executive producers. The show will line up with the new films and will be a continuation of its story. At the moment, it’s unclear if Jason Clarke or Arnold Schwarzenegger will appear in the TV series too, but it’s hard to imagine Schwarzenegger being a regular on a TV show.
The new Terminator film reboot is Paramount’s answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and what Bryan Singer is doing with X-Men: Days of Future Past and Age of Apocalypse. The idea is to expand a film franchise’s mythology to include more movies that play directly into each other, while servicing what came in the past. Incorporating more time travel into the Terminator film franchise could make this new direction for the series its own thing, without negating the original films. It’s unclear if this is in fact what the new Terminator film series will be like, but it’s definitely the trend in Hollywood these days.
Taylor Kitsch (Battleship) and Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: Days of Future Past) are rumored for the role of Kyle Reese. Considering the ages of those actors, Reese will apparently be younger than John Connor as well, which brings up more questions about how Terminator 5‘s timeline will connect with what came before. Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones, Thor: The Dark World) is also expected to direct the new film, but Skydance, Annapurna, and Paramount have yet to confirm his participation.
Terminator: Genesis hits theaters everywhere on July 1, 2015.
