Why Linda Hamilton Refuses To Play Terminator's Sarah Connor Ever Again: 'I'm Done'
Despite the fact that James Cameron's 1984 sci-fi action movie "The Terminator" and its sequel "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" are all-time classics that reshaped blockbuster filmmaking, the multimedia franchise they spawned never quite managed to capitalize on their success. It's unsurprising, then, that Cameron has mulled over relaunching the Terminator franchise based on a concept for a reboot about artificial intelligence, addressing a major issue in present-day discourse about technology. If this reboot project does ultimately move forward, however, fans should not expect Linda Hamilton to reprise her iconic role from those first two films.
In an interview Business Insider conducted with Hamilton promoting her work on Season 3 of "Resident Alien," she made it clear that she's done with her Terminator character Sarah Connor — whom she played in some brief cameos after "T2" and as one of the lead roles of the 2019 film "Terminator: Dark Fate." Hamilton explained that she doesn't agree with the positive perception of her character among Terminator fans. "I truly feel like, and felt like, Sarah Connor is not an icon," Hamilton said. "She's a woman in hell. She makes some really bad choices. She's not a good mother, she's a good fighter!"
At least partially for this reason, then, Hamilton has no interest in reprising the role of Sarah Connor. "I'm done," she said. "I'm done. I have nothing more to say. The story's been told, and it's been done to death."
Linda Hamilton thinks that her work on the original Terminator remains relevant to this day
During her conversation with Business Insider, Linda Hamilton questioned the very premise of a Terminator franchise reboot, albeit before acknowledging that Hollywood largely revolves around reworking existing IP nowadays. In a separate interview with UPI also promoting "Resident Alien" Season 3, she praised the original "Terminator" movies for their lasting relevance in spite of their old age. It's perhaps because she still thinks the first films are thematically resonant, then, that she finds the prospect of a reboot to be unnecessary.
"The movies were ahead of their time because they did predict a certain reality that might come into fruition," she said. "We know there is a real threat from AI... I didn't write ['The Terminator']. I don't get to be the soothsayer that warned everyone. I embodied the soothsayer and it's kind of interesting to be that person right now."
So, even if Hamilton is uninterested in playing Sarah Connor in a new project, she does appreciate the fact that the first two Terminator films have become somewhat prophetic in hindsight. Nevertheless, it seems she's content to leave her contributions to the classic and prescient franchise in the past.