Terminator 5 Lands Shutter Island And Drive Angry Writers

This weekend sees the release of The Last Stand, a movie that features Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first starring role since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in 2003. But it's far from a one and done situation with the action legend - he is making a full comeback. Beyond this weekend's entertainment he also has the prison thriller The Tomb out later this year and he recently completed production on David Ayer's Ten. But with Schwarzenegger's return to Hollywood also comes the return of his biggest franchises, and now one of them has taken a big step forward.

Deadline has learned that Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier have been hired as screenwriters to pen a new Terminator movie. While the two haven't shared a writing credit before, they both have plenty of Hollywood experience, with Kalogridis' previous titles including Shutter Island, Pathfinder and Alexander (she was also an executive producer on James Cameron's Avatar, giving her a connection to the Terminator franchise creator), while Lussier is known for writing (and directing) Drive Angry. The project is currently set up as a co-production between Skydance and Annapurna Pictures. The site notes that David Ellison at Skydance recently hired both writers to work on an original sci-fi script with his studio, which is what likely led to them getting the Terminator gig (David Ellison's sister Megan Ellison owns Annapurna, which has the rights to the franchise).

What's not mentioned in the new report is the status of the empty directing chair. In the earliest stages of the project it was said that Fast Five filmmaker Justin Lin was going to direct the latest Terminator movie, but when the project got delayed due to Schwarzenegger's personal affairs he was forced to back out (though he left the door open for his possible return). We'll likely be hearing a lot more about this film in the coming months, so stay tuned!

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.