Anmol Ahuja
An odd predicament, in my opinion. We have come to a point in entertainment history where the hopes or even a faint whiff of a future for the film we just watched has indelibly accustomed us to sitting an extra five minutes or so whilst the screen cuts to black and the credits for the film start rolling. The MCU may completely be credited for this new fad, but it has intangibly become tied to every franchise entry that has hit theatres since.
Coming to this week’s franchise kickstarter, reviver, and at the same time providing closure for better or for worse, we have the latest entry in the ‘Terminator’ series of films, the sixth one, that seeks to create as it does to destroy. The consensus on this one is still a bit mixed, with critics stating it to be a much-needed shot in the arm for a franchise that, until 2015s ‘Genisys’ was stated to have run its course, while some in the audience particularly have completely dismissed it as derivative and a rehash of the original two Terminator films, making it seem inferior to other less stellar franchise entries in ‘Genisys’ and ‘Rise of the machines’ that atleast dared to experiment with certain things new to the franchise.
Despite the box office projections for the weekend being revised in the opposite direction now after noticing a lacklustre Friday and Thursday, indicating that despite the apparent facelift, audience may finally have waned interest in the 35 years old franchise, the truth is that ‘Dark Fate’ set out to do what no other film in the franchise explicitly did: to reboot the franchise softly without hurting the continuity too much, to serve as a direct sequel to ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day‘ and live up to its name, and to introduce completely new players that could carry the franchise on their shoulders based on a blueprint set forth by ‘Dark Fate’.
On that truth, and that note, I am sure you must be eager to know how ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ ends and what avenues it opens up for future sequels, especially through post credits scenes or the like. Unlikely happening then, since ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ neither has an open-ended finale, neatly wrapping up everything like a swansong while looking to a new future, nor does it have any mid or post credits scenes at all. Therefore, the more impatient viewers can simply head for the exit when the lights come on and the credits start rolling without the fear of missing out on any additional footage. Although, we do urge our readers to stay through the credits simply to see how much manpower and resources go into making a film a reality apart from the core team.
On the other hand, I must admit that the lack of a post or mid-credits scene was rather surprising for me, especially since ‘Dark Fate’ was, from the beginning, stated to be somewhat of a disruptor in the franchise, with even James Cameron, who got involved with a Terminator film nearly after three decades with this one, stating that he penned the script for this one intended it to be the Launchpad for a trilogy of new films.
It could be stated that post or mid-credits scenes may not be his style after all, but the more plausible explanation here seems like the makers behind the film wanted to test some waters and ascertain things on the commercial front before going out on a limb and straightaway announcing that the story would continue. As history would have it, it has gloriously misfired in the case of several other films that were straightaway intended as franchise kickstarters, and we all know how that looks in case diminishing box office returns don’t warrant a sequel.
Read More: All Terminator Movies, Ranked
