Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger will return to ‘Terminator’ franchise

Jayme Deerwester | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Linda Hamilton's to return for next 'Terminator' movie Arnold Schwarzenegger will be back for James Cameron’s potential Terminator reboot — and according to the franchise mastermind, so will his original female star, Linda Hamilton.

She'll be back.

Linda Hamilton, who originated the role of Sarah Connor in the first two Terminator films, is returning for the franchise's sixth chapter.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who returned in 2015's Terminator Genesis, will also take part.

James Cameron, who was formerly married to Hamilton, now 60, announced the news at a private event celebrating the franchise in Los Angeles, The Hollywood Reporter and Associated Press report.

"As meaningful as she was to gender and action stars everywhere back then, it’s going to make a huge statement to have that seasoned warrior that she’s become return," he said. "There are 50-year-old, 60-year-old guys out there killing bad guys,” referring to aging male actors still anchoring movies, “but there isn’t an an example of that for women."

MORE:Schwarzenegger's surprisingly nice cyborg is back onscreen in 3-D in Terminator 2

In August, Cameron told USA TODAY that he was in talks to "reinvent a franchise that’s sort of run its course."

At the time, he said that while Schwarzenegger would likely figure into any sequels, the actor, now 70, would pass the torch to new Terminators.

"We have to create something new and fresh that stands on its own," Cameron said of any new Terminator movie. "I would like to think that Arnold would be a part of it. But I think it would a mistake to make him as central as he has been."

During his Tuesday remarks, Cameron indicated the new film would pick up after the events of 1991's Judgment Day, which ended with Schwarzenegger's once-murderous T-800 being voluntarily being melted down for fear of another machine uprising following the defeat of the even more terrifying T-1000 (Robert Patrick).

Robert Patrick: 'Wonderful to hear that I have terrified people' As "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" gets a 3D rerelease, actor Robert Patrick recalls auditioning for his role as its shape changing cyborg, and delights in the nightmares he gave a generation of film fans. (Aug. 22)

"I set myself a goal of having the audience cry for a machine that had been the ultimate killer," he told USA TODAY last month.

Although T2 was the highest-grossing movie that year, Schwarzenegger wasn't immediately sold on the new touchy-feely Terminator.

“Arnold hated the idea," Cameron recalled. "He tried to talk me out of it. He said, 'Jim, I’m the Terminator. I kick in the door and shoot everybody. It’s what I do. It’s what everybody wants to see me do. Don't fix something that's not broken.' And I said, 'Yeah, that’s why people won’t see this coming.'"

James Cameron: 'Wonder Woman' was a 'step backwards' Legendary director James Cameron has made some eye raising statements about DC’s smash hit film Wonder Woman, suggesting the film is not the progressive, feminist triumph it’s been widely hailed as, but actually objectifies women.

Last month, the Oscar-winning director also caught flack after saying that Wonder Woman, one of this year's biggest box-office success stories, was a step backward for Hollywood because its lead character (former Israeli beauty queen Gal Gadot) was "an objectified icon."

"Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon," he said, referencing the action-movie heroine he created. "She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit."

Cameron is currently enmeshed in pre-production for the first two of four planned Avatar sequels. He will produce the new movie but will hand off directing duties to Deadpool's Tim Miller. It's planned for 2019.

USA TODAY has reached out to Paramount Pictures for comment.

Contributing: Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY; The Associated Press