After the disappointing box office results for Terminator Genisys last year, there was a lot of talk of recalibrating the attempted new trilogy. Now it appears Paramount is ready to put the brakes on even harder, removing the planned second film from its release schedule.
The next Terminator film, which didn't have a confirmed cast, director or writers, but had been hoping to kick off shooting this year, had been sitting on the company's schedule in the prime early summer slot of May 19, 2017. Hopes had been high that Genisys would launch a revived Terminator franchise, but the critical reaction and the low turnout ($89 million in the US, with a slightly healthier worldwide response thanks partly to China) didn't instill confidence. There may well still be movement on the Terminator front, especially as the rights revert to creator James Cameron in 2019, but for now Arnie and co. are in timeline limbo.
Still, Terminator's loss is Baywatch's gain, as the film version of the cult TV series that will star Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron and Alexandra Daddario is inheriting that May 2017 release date. The studio clearly feels that the comedy, which just added a new cast member, is a better bet to perform than a franchise that has been slowly shutting down.