terminator 5 mcgI thought it was safe to assume the Terminator film franchise was dead (for the next several years, at least) after the critical lashing director McG endured for Terminator Salvation. (Let's not even get into Christian Bale's on-set meltdown.) But Terminator 5 is still in the works, says McG, who told IESB he's busy prepping his follow-up to Salvation.

I'm torn here. I love the Terminator franchise, but I hated Terminator Salvation. It was a decent action flick, but it had none of the thrills, heart or spirit of the earlier movies. I'd love to see the franchise continue, but I was hoping Warner Bros. would let the dust settle for a decade and somehow lure James Cameron back to direct. But they've got awful toys to sell and a director who seems willing to ape the earlier, more successful Terminator films for a shot at a hit.

In the IESB interview, McG hinted that he'd like to set T5 in the contemporary world instead of Salvation's grim post-apocalyptic future. Is this an admission that Salvation's joyless and gray mood and look didn't exactly connect with audiences and fans? Probably. Moving the action out of the bleak future, and maybe trying to recapture the feel and magic of T2, might be a good idea, but I'm still nervous about this one.