Linda Hamilton is ready to take on a new 'Terminator'

First Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween, now Hamilton in Terminator. Who's next?

Looking to try and one-up the recent announcement of Jamie Lee Curtis returning to the Halloween franchise, original Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day director James Cameron has announced that Linda Hamilton, who is now 61 years old, will be returning to the franchise after 25 years.

Cameron, via the Hollywood Reporter, said:

“As meaningful as she was to gender and action stars everywhere back then, it’s going to make a huge statement to have that seasoned warrior that she’s become returned. There are 50-year-old, 60-year-old guys out there killing bad guys, but there isn’t an example of that for women.”

This newest Terminator installment will be the sixth entry in the film franchise. Deadpool director Tim Miller is handling the sequel, with Cameron in a producers role. Arnold Schwarzenegger will also return once again, making this a reunion that was a long time coming.

Hamilton first appeared as Sarah Connor in 1984, playing the lovable, yet vulnerable heroine who was being hunted by the ruthless killing machine. Remember how cool this scene was?

It was in Terminator 2: Judgment Day when Connor really found her chops and became the tough-as-nails female character we all know her as today:

Now she gets to do it all over again.

Bringing Hamilton back to the franchise is a smart move to make. The character had been portrayed by Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Lena Headey (also Game of Thrones) in previous entries, but none of them quite captured Sarah Connor like Hamilton did. And Cameron is right — now is the perfect time to bring an older yet hard-edged female action hero into the forefront of Hollywood.

There aren’t many plot details that have yet been revealed about the film, but Miller and Cameron are treating it as a direct sequel to Judgment Day — another smart move, considering how this was the last Terminator movie that was actually good. Seeing how Terminator: Genysis threatened to derail the project indefinitely, it's at least nice to see that some progress is actually being made.

The next Terminator film will be released in 2019. We've been let down (many times) before with this franchise, here's to hoping it's not about to happen again.