Information surrounding Terminator: Genisys has been kind of confusing, with the movie described as not quite a sequel but not quite a remake, and the trailer didn't help to clear much up. We now have a bit more information about the movie's pretty complicated storyline and about the future of this franchise.

According to Slashfilm, Terminator: Genisys will take place in three different time periods: 1984, 1995 and 2029. Whereas the other Terminator movies were all pretty much focused in one time, this one apparently will spend an equal amount of time in each of those years, showing us the repercussions time travel has on past and future events.

The movie was described as not a sequel or a remake but more of a reimagining in the same vein as J.J. Abrams' Star Trek. The movie is intended to be standalone, though there will be some fun references to the original movies like a similar wardrobe for the characters, and obviously the repetition of famous lines from the original as we saw in the trailer. Jason Clarke said the movie honors the originals while doing its own thing, kind of like the new Planet of the Apes movies which Clarke also stars in.

Director Alan Taylor said that the first two movies are their guide with this one, noticeably leaving out the third and fourth films. Taylor said that he thought the tension of the series was lost when the stories started being set more in the future, kind of a strange comment considering 1/3rd of this movie will take place in the future. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that they're basically flat out ignoring the fourth movie, Terminator: Salvation.

Assuming Genisys is a box office success, which definitely isn't a guarantee, it is intended to be the launch of a new trilogy, and there will apparently be elements set up in this movie intended to play out over three films. The creators said that they broke down the story for the full trilogy before even beginning production on Genisys. If the second and third movies are green-lit, they are expected to be shot back to back over 9 months.

The new movie will also explore the idea of how much trust we put into machines, with Skynet being like Apple and consumers lining up to dedicate their lives to them. That kind of varies from the tone of the originals, as now we'll see the characters pretty much ready and willing to give up their security to Skynet.

Director Alan Taylor said that if the first movie was a love story and the second was a thriller, this one is a "dysfunctional family story." The film will also apparently be more of an ensemble story than the original film, which was pretty focused on Sarah Connor as our lead. Here we'll be following Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), future John Connor (Jason Clarke), and some mysterious character played by Matt Smith.

So to summarize, this movie will be part remake and part reboot. It will begin with the same basic storyline we're familiar with involving a Terminator going back in time to kill Sarah Connor to prevent the birth of John Connor, but then the movie will diverge into its own thing. We can look at this new franchise as sort of an alternate universe to the original films, where we see what could have happened if the story had taken a different direction. In a series all about time travel and the repercussions of our actions on the future, that does make a lot of sense, though the fact that this movie will apparently jump around in time so much and have so many lead characters is making it sound pretty insane.

According to IGN, Arnold Schwarzenegger said that they really figured out a way to continue the story and do it right, and that everyone on board agrees that they have to top Terminator 2. Considering T2 is probably one of the greatest sci-fi/action movies ever made, that's a pretty lofty goal.

Terminator Genisys will be the fifth Terminator film, with the last one being Terminator: Salvation, released in 2009. That movie grossed $371 million at the box office, which is respectable but definitely somewhat disappointing for the studio considering Terminator 3 grossed $433 million six years prior.

Terminator Genisys is directed by Alan Taylor, director of Thor: The Dark World. He has also directed episodes of television for shows such as Game of Thrones, Mad Men, The Sopranos, Lost, Deadwood, Six Feet Under and The West Wing.

The film will hit theaters on July 1, 2015.

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