Linda Hamilton Is ‘Quite Happy To Never Return’ To The ‘Terminator’ Franchise After ‘Dark Fate’ Flop

Actress Linda Hamilton, forever enshrined in the pop culture canon as Sarah Connor, says she’s “quite happy to never return” to the role that made her an action movie legend, following the disastrous box office performance of “Terminator: Dark Fate.”

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter (THR), Hamilton said that she likely will not return to the franchise after “Dark Fate” flamed out with a tepid gross revenue of just $261 million worldwide. If she were to return, she’d appreciate a “smaller version” of the film that dials everything back just a little bit.

“I would really appreciate maybe a smaller version where so many millions are not at stake,” she said. “Today’s audience is just so unpredictable. I can’t tell you how many laymen just go, ‘Well, people don’t go to the movies anymore.’ That’s not Hollywood analysis; that just comes out of almost everybody’s mouth. It should definitely not be such a high-risk financial venture, but I would be quite happy to never return. So, no, I am not hopeful because I would really love to be done. But, if there were something new that really spoke to me, I am a logical person, and I will always consider viable changes.”

As noted by THR (SPOILER ALERT!), fans of the “Terminator” franchise were quite incensed over the movie killing off John Connor, the savior of humanity, in the opening scene. Hamilton, however, said that a plot shift was necessary for her character to remain viable.

“I don’t think Sarah and John would be there at all if they were still fine and strong. I thought it was a great leaping-off point for my character,” Hamilton said. “To create a new fuel and fire for Sarah Connor, I thought it was a very good story point. I’m not one that clings to past ideas. ‘Judgment Day’ is about John, but John wouldn’t exist without Sarah. Then, something else will happen, and Sarah will have to die. That is kind of the nature of life, and I would like that to be the nature of franchises where it’s not just the same story retold each time. I just think it’s much more interesting to launch from a new place.”

However, fans were not so much upset with John Connor’s fate as they were with how the film handled his fate. As noted by Society Reviews, the movie flipped everything people loved about Sarah Connor’s story on its head — but perhaps less in the name of telling a compelling story, and perhaps more in the name of third-wave feminism. In a sense, the events of the series’ first two films were rendered meaningless.

“Let’s not beat around the bush, ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ is an unoriginal disgrace on just about every level,” the review noted. “The very fiber of this film comes off as someone who is ashamed that the foundation of this franchise does not fit their current day intersectional feminist worldview, so they decided to change it by repealing and replacing everything they felt was problematic with more progressive friendly elements.”