Does Sarah Connor have a future? After Terminator: Dark Fate, Linda Hamilton isn't so sure

Say it isn't so! Actress Linda Hamilton seems ready and willing to say goodbye for good to the character she helped make an icon, Sarah Connor. Hamilton recently returned as the butt-kicking, rocket-toting Connor in the Tim Miller-directed film Terminator: Dark Fate.

The actress gave a candid interview to The Hollywood Reporter recently, where she talked about the pressures of big-budget films and why she'd be happy to say goodbye to Connor for good.

Asked whether or not she sees a future for Connor, Hamilton said, "No. Something says to me … I don’t know. I would really appreciate maybe a smaller version where so many millions are not at stake. Today’s audience is just so unpredictable."

She added, "I would be quite happy to never return. So, no, I am not hopeful, because I would really love to be done. But, if there were something new that really spoke to me, I am a logical person, and I will always consider viable changes."

In the latest installment of the series, Hamilton plays a 63-year-old Connor who now has a lifetime of experience, baggage, and more than her share of emotional scars. Despite receiving critical acclaim, though, the film failed to meet box-office predictions, making $29 million domestically in its opening week.

James Cameron, who wrote and directed Terminator and T2: Judgment Day, hinted at a possible trilogy kicked off by the new installment this past summer, should Dark Fate perform well at the box office. Now that we know that's not the case, we're wondering what it means for all those ideas inside Cameron's head. Cameron served as the producer on Dark Fate but worked in close collaboration with the film's director, Tim Miller (Deadpool).

Credit: Paramount Pictures

Dark Fate took Hamilton to a dark place both physically and emotionally. The actress discussed what it was like to prepare for the role. Early on in the film her son, John Connor (Eddie Furlong), is killed. While the death may have riled up audiences, for Hamilton it was an essential moment for her character and the film. 

"I thought it was a great leaping-off point for my character. To create a new fuel and fire for Sarah Connor, I thought it was a very good story point. I’m not one that clings to past ideas," said Hamilton, who noted it took her a year to get into the mental and physical condition to reprise the role of Connor. "I’ve never gone deeper or darker for so long. I haven’t been acting that much, so a whole year was a luxury to train my body and my mind."

Dark Fate saw Connor team up with an android from the future (Mackenzie Davis) to protect a new hope for the future by the name of Dani Ramos (Natalie Reyes). Hamilton says the three of them formed a bond on set "forged in fire."

Interestingly, Hamilton doesn't seem upset about the possibility of not reprising the role of Connor again. Instead, she sees it as more of a reflection of the cycle of life.

"Judgment Day is about John, but John wouldn’t exist without Sarah. Then, something else will happen, and Sarah will have to die. That is kind of the nature of life, and I would like that to be the nature of franchises where it’s not just the same story retold each time. I just think it’s much more interesting to launch from a new place."

We still don't have any official word on the fate of any future Terminator films. But until we hear anything definitive we're going to hope that Hamilton hasn't waved goodbye to Connor quite yet.

Terminator: Dark Fate is now available on Blu-ray and digital. 

(via The Hollywood Reporter)