Now that Warner Brothers has spun ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ to a new June 5, 2020, release date, Sony has pounced, pushing its reboot of ‘Charlie’s Angels’ to ‘Wonder Woman”s old release date of November 1, 2019. But now, Paramount/Skydance has also targeted that date, slotting its new ‘Terminator’ movie into the same weekend. Can a sputtering cyborg take on the third reboot of the ’70s female secret agent franchise?
The new ‘Charlie’s Angels’ is spearheaded by Elizabeth Banks who will direct and star. Patrick Stewart is also attached, but the ‘Angels’ will be played by Kristen Stewart, ‘Power Rangers” Naomi Scott and relative newcomer Ella Balinska, who was most recently seen on ‘Midsomer Murders’.
The original ‘Charlie’s Angels’ TV series ran from 1976-81 and starred such pin-up favorites as Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd, and Tanya Roberts. Two movies revived the franchise in 2000 and 2003, with Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu as the leads. In 2011, ABC launched a new television series, which included Minka Kelly in the cast, but it was cancelled after one season.
James Cameron is returning to the ‘Terminator’ franchise for the new movie in the role of executive producer. Linda Hamilton is also back as Sarah Connor, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brett Azar, Diego Boneta, Steven Cree, Mackenzie Davis, Gabriel Luna and Natalia Reyes.
There have been two attempts at rebooting the franchise on the big screen, including 2009’s ‘Terminator: Salvation’, which, coincidentally, was directed by McG, who also directed the two ‘Charlie’s Angels’ films. That was followed by 2015’s ‘Terminator Genisys’. Neither film performed well at the box office. in 2008, an attempt was made to transition the brand to television in ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ which only lasted one season.
Reboots are hit or miss. ‘The Predator’ floundered last month, but this past weekend, ‘Halloween’ had a massive opening. Part of what made ‘Halloween’ work, was the involvement of franchise originals, John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis, so that could assist ‘Terminator’ since Cameron, Hamilton and Schwarzenegger are attached. Then again, ‘Halloween’ has been on ice for a while. Curtis last appeared in ‘Halloween: Resurrection’ in 2002. Rob Zombie released two reboot movies, disconnected from the past installment, in 2007 and 2009. On the other hand, ‘Terminator: Genisys’ is still a rather fresh flop. Fans may not have had enough time to develop a desire to see a new movie in this franchise.
Which one are you most looking forward to?
Source: Deadline
