James Cameron Defends Terminator: Dark Fate: ‘People Didn’t Show Up’

James Cameron Defends Terminator: Dark Fate: ‘People Didn’t Show Up’

As a lifelong fan of the Terminator franchise, I must admit that my feelings about Dark Fate are rather complex. On one hand, it was a disappointing experience at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. However, hearing James Cameron’s perspective on the film has certainly piqued my interest.


2019’s “Terminator: Dark Fate” was generally perceived as a flop due to its disappointing earnings at the box office. Despite this, director James Cameron believes the movie was well-made and ranks it highly among the Terminator series.

To Empire Magazine, I’d express my personal viewpoint: “When speaking with you, James Cameron shared his perspective on Terminator: Dark Fate. He considers it the third-greatest Terminator film, trailing slightly behind his own movies that truly established the franchise as legendary. As for why it didn’t perform as well, he attributes it to audience turnout – people simply didn’t flock to theaters.

What did James Cameron say about Terminator: Dark Fate?

In simpler terms, Cameron admitted that the sequel they made was as good as what they had done in the past, but it didn’t resonate with audiences because the people who would have originally watched the original movie are either deceased, retired, disabled, or suffering from dementia. He acknowledged that he played a significant role in the film’s failure by setting it up for disappointment before any production even began.

As a gamer, I’ve got to say, Dark Fate was steered by Tim Miller, who had some heated creative clashes with Cameron during the movie-making process. Now, even ol’ Cameron himself acknowledged those rumors, mentioning that Miller’s initial cut was a bit raw and needed some polishing. Editing this film took longer than expected, as they fine-tuned it to perfection.

Cameron expressed that many paths chosen seemed unnecessary to him. As an editor myself, I provided both general and specific suggestions throughout the process, which lasted approximately two and a half months until we finalized the visuals. I played significant roles in both the scriptwriting and the editing phases. To me, editing is just another form of writing, an extension of it.

In this new installment, Linda Hamilton reprises her role, while Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, and Diego Boneta join the cast. However, Terminator: Dark Fate received mostly unfavorable criticisms and was a significant financial flop. Despite earning $261.1 million globally, the movie incurred a loss of $122.6 million, placing it among the most financially disastrous films ever made.

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2024-09-30 16:40