Will they be back?

Briefly after (finally) joining Twitter the other day, mega-director James Cameron tweeted:

"Jess, we have to do another kick butt project together soon! RT @jessicaalba: Yo tweeples follow my dear friend and mentor @JimCameron!!!"

to which Jessica Alba then tweeted her agreement.

Of course, this could just be a vague wish or intention, amongst the many creative impulses in James Cameron’s brain, but it would be awesome if it worked out someday.  Cameron did use the word “soon”, but then again, this is the man who has Avatar 2 and 3 scheduled for release in 2014 and 2015 respectively, with Battle Angel planned at some point, probably after he finishes those, as well as being linked to several other films.  If he doesn’t cast Jessica Alba in one of his existing projects (which could be cool), then it could be several years before they can get an original project going.  Or not.  After all, James Cameron is kind of a machine, and I mean that in the best possible way.*

James Cameron’s first, and to date only, TV series, Dark Angel, starred Jessica Alba as the genetically-enhanced super-soldier Max, and picked up a devoted/passionate cult following over its two-season run before being cancelled in 2002.  The open ending to the series was fairly satisfying, but still left lots of potential to continue.  Apparently there were some books written continuing the story, though many fans would like to see a third season.

With Fringe successfully reanimating the Friday night ratings for sci-fi, and Avatar becoming the highest-grossing box office film of all time (at least when not adjusted for inflation), is the time now right for James Cameron to return to TV with a new sci-fi action show?  (Though Dark Angel co-creator Charles H. Eglee will probably be busy showrunning Powers, the TV adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis’ acclaimed comic book series.)

James Cameron should ring up Fox and get them to bring back Josh Friedman’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (or he could potentially just fund it himself).  With James Cameron in an overseeing kind of producer role, with some creative input though probably mostly hands-off in order to concentrate on his feature film work, and Jessica Alba in a major role, fighting Terminators or something.

There’s also a True Lies TV series currently in the works, which has potential, but I don’t know how directly involved James Cameron’s going to be.

In any case, when James Cameron’s schedule clears sufficiently, the two of them working together again would rock.  He’s great at writing roles for female action heroes, with his CV including the likes of Sarah Connor (The Terminator, Terminator 2), Ellen Ripley (Aliens) (though she's not his original character), Max Guevera (Dark Angel), Trudy Chacon (Avatar), et al, not to mention strong women in non-action roles: Lindsey Brigman (The Abyss), Dr. Grace Augustine (Avatar), Neytiri (Avatar) (though it's arguably an action role), et al.  Until then, the James Cameron-produced Sanctum is out tomorrow, and then it'll be nearly four years until his next fllm as director, Avatar 2, comes out, unless he manages to complete Battle Angel before then.

* That is, both as a compliment and as a Terminator reference.

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