New ‘Terminator’ TV Series in the Works
“Thor’s” Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller will pen the script for the project, from Skydance Productions and Annapurna Pictures, that will be a companion piece to the rebooted film.
The Terminator is headed back to the small screen.
Four years after Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ended its run on Fox, Skydance Productions and Annapurna Pictures are teaming to bring the Arnold Schwarzenegger franchise back to TV.
The producers behind the upcoming fifth through seventh cinematic installments have tapped Thor and X-Men: First Class writers Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller to write and executive produce a new Terminator television series that will be a companion piece to the rebooted trilogy.
The TV series will follow a critical moment from the first Terminator film (1984) and, where the film’s story goes one way, the upcoming series will take the same moment in a completely different direction. As the rebooted film trilogy and the new TV series progress, the two narratives will intersect with each other in surprising and dramatic ways.
The TV series will be produced by Annapurna’s Megan Ellison and Skydance’s David Ellison alongside Skydance chief creative officer Dana Goldberg and TV chief Marcy Ross. Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier will executive produce. Kalogridis and Lussier will also pen the first feature in the upcoming Terminator trilogy, which will be directed by Alan Taylor and released via Paramount Pictures on July 1, 2015. Both Ellisons will produce, while Goldberg and Paul Schwake of Skydance will serve as exec producers. Schwarzenegger will reprise his famed role in the new trilogy, described as a time-spanning story that sees him tasked with protecting Sarah Connor as she grows up. The feature is currently testing actresses to play Sarah Connor.
Annapurna acquired the rights to the franchise in May 2011, then teamed with Skydance and Paramount in June, with plans to make a trilogy.
Stentz and Miller’s credits also include Starship Troopers and The Fall Guy. On the TV side, the duo wrote and produced Fox’s Fringe as well as Fox’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles — so this marks the second time they’ll be playing in this particular sandbox. Stentz and Miller are repped by WME and Principato Young.
Launched in 1984, the Terminator franchise spanned three sequels and has grossed more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
For Skydance, the project marks its latest push into television. In September, the company sold its first TV series, Manhattan, to WGN America, who gave it a straight-to-series order. On the big screen, Skydance’s credits include World War Z, Star Trek Into Darkness and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, among others.
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