James Cameron confirms that Terminator 6 will serve as a direct sequel to his Terminator 2: Judgment Day, ignoring the events of the films that have been released in the years after. Cameron, who directed the first two Terminator films, has been absent from the franchise since 1991, but he is making a (hopefully) triumphant return for this latest entry in the role as producer while he works on his four Avatar sequels.

Since first hitting our screens in 1984, audiences have rolled with the good, the bad, and the ugly of Terminator movies, with Cameron rescuing the franchise from the brink of extinction. With a timeline that is possibly about to get more complicated than the convoluted X-Men universe, Cameron has unveiled exactly where 2019's "rebooted" Terminator 6 will sit in the world of Skynet and Schwarzenegger.

Speaking in an interview with THR, the 63-year-old director confessed that he and co-director Tim Miller had decided to stick with what has worked in the past when it comes to mapping out the future of Terminator:

"This is a continuation of the story from Terminator 1 and Terminator 2. And we're pretending the other films were a bad dream. Or an alternate timeline, which is permissible in our multi-verse. This was really driven more by [Tim] than anybody, surprisingly, because I came in pretty agnostic about where we took it. The only thing I insisted on was that we somehow revamp it and reinvent it for the 21st century."

The idea to forget what didn't fly for the series may be a godsend, while the old "alternate timeline" trick can be a helpful way to pave over some bad memories. It is no secret that the ongoing Terminator movies have been slipping in their popularity after Terminator 2: Judgment Day bowed out of cinemas in 1991, so why wouldn't you go back before you go forward? Although 2003's Rise of the Machines faired reasonably well in the critic's stakes, audiences will also have undoubtedly noticed a dip in the quality of the films since Cameron's departure. With Judgement Day still being the highest-grossing movie in the series - and netting an impressive $521 million - it isn't surprising that Cameron is picking up where he left off.

Similarly, you have to applaud the dynamic duo for trying to reinvent Terminator for the 21st Century without making it seem like a cheap cash in. Given that lead star Arnold Schwarzenegger is already 70, some fresh blood may help an already aging concept and introduce it to a whole new generation. Here's hoping that with more Arnie, a returning Linda Hamilton, and Cameron all on board for another rumble with the robots, we are onto a winning formula for box office (and critical) success.

Next: How Terminator 6 Can Ignore Rise of the Machines, Salvation, & Genisys

Terminator 6 currently does not have a release date. We'll keep you updated on the latest information.

Source: THR