Terminator: Dark Fate star Mackenzie Davis doesn't think there will be a seventh Terminator movie, saying that there just "wasn't a demand for it." Davis plays Grace, an enhanced super-soldier who travels back in time to protect the future leader of the rebellion, a woman named Dani Ramos. The 2019 film, which features Linda Hamilton's return to the franchise as Sarah Conner, did well with critics but didn't make a lot of money at the box office.
The first Terminator film came out in 1984, directed by James Cameron, about a cyborg assassin sent back in time to kill the woman whose future son will become a hero of the apocalypse. A sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, followed in 1991, with the third film not coming out until 2003. They waited a number of years before trying again with 2009's Terminator Salvation, then again in 2015 with Terminator Genisys. Both films were very poorly received, which is why it was a big surprise when they announced Terminator: Dark Fate. One major reason the film went forward was because Cameron returned as an executive producer, while he hadn't been involved with the franchise since the second film.
Mackenzie Davis spoke about the future of the Terminator franchise in an interview with NME. While promoting her upcoming movie Irresistible, starring Steve Carrell and Rose Byrne, Davis was asked about Terminator: Dark Fate and if there would be another sequel. She says that while she is "so proud of what we did" and loves the movie, "to think that there’d be a demand for a seventh film is quite insane." Davis argues that audiences "want new things," not big franchises and multiple sequels. Continuing on with that sentiment, Davis highlights the importance of searching for original voices with original stories:
“There are many interesting people that don’t fit the mold of those who make these big franchises who have not had the chance to make movies. We should be investing in them right now.”
Though Terminator: Dark Fate received generally positive reviews, it was a box office bomb that lost about $120 million during its theatrical run. Coming on the heels of Terminator: Genisys' poor commercial performance, it's clear general audiences have lost interest in this particular franchise. The last four installments have seen diminishing returns at the domestic box office, so there's very little incentive to move ahead with a seventh movie. Major franchises will always have a place in Hollywood (Avengers: Endgame is proof of that), but some properties aren't viable anymore.
Terminator: Dark Fate's failure at the box office wasn't a surprise, considering the many recent failed attempts at reviving franchises. It situation was similar to movies like Doctor Sleep and Charlie's Angels, which also struggled at the box office. This is a sign that audiences, like Davis claims, want new things and aren't always interested in the same movies over and over again. Despite this, Hollywood keeps greenlighting more franchise revivals, such as the upcoming Dune reboot. While Terminator: Dark Fate brought life back to the dying Terminator franchise, it appears that sadly, it wasn't enough to keep it going any longer.
Source: NME