In a surprising announcement for fans, director Alan Taylor of Game of Thrones and Thor: The Dark World has been tapped by Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, and Annapurna Pictures to direct the next installment in the storied Terminator franchise. The news, first reported by Variety, comes as fans have been pleased with early footage from the Thor sequel. As the fifth Terminatorfilm, this is being billed as the start of a new stand-alone franchise under new leadership.
Taylor has had an impressive rise from the heights of premium cable epics to his first big budget blockbuster. Cutting his teeth for big-scaled production on lauded HBO programming like Rome, The Sopranos and Deadwood, Taylor became one of the leading directors and a producer for Game of Thronesduring its first two seasons. Marvel Studios has since hired him to direct Thor.
Laeta Kalorgridis (Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry) are also currently attached to pen the screenplay on the project.
The new Terminator film is scheduled to hit theaters in June 2015.