"Terminator" The Movies

[Minstrel]

Please explain...

Sarah Connors' son (in the 'future')
 sends an emissary (aka 'Pops')
  to find and protect Sarah ('present day')
   so she can have the son
    that becomes the 'future' son
     into a time loop.

Which came first - the son, or Pops?

What am I missing?

[EndtheMadnessNow]

The old bootstrap paradox. The Terminator movies deliberately leaves who sent Pops ambiguous and unexplained. It's never stated on-screen whether it's John Connor, an alternate version of the resistance, a future Sarah, or even some other party.

Which came first, the son (John) or Pops? Neither, and both. It's a closed causal loop with no true "first" event. It's Pops and the son simultaneously, in a timeless circle.

So, you're not missing anything other than how James Cameron mind works.

[Kenzo1]

That terminator chap can be bit annoying at times...

[Ninurta]

Please explain...

Sarah Connors' son (in the 'future')
 sends an emissary (aka 'Pops')
  to find and protect Sarah ('present day')
   so she can have the son
    that becomes the 'future' son
     into a time loop.

Which came first - the son, or Pops?

What am I missing?

Clearly Pops came first, or else Son would never have existed....

My question is, why was there never a Grandson to extend the franchise? Did they just get tired of making money?

.

[quintessentone]

Please explain...

Sarah Connors' son (in the 'future')
 sends an emissary (aka 'Pops')
  to find and protect Sarah ('present day')
   so she can have the son
    that becomes the 'future' son
     into a time loop.

Which came first - the son, or Pops?

What am I missing?

Clearly Pops came first, or else Son would never have existed....

My question is, why was there never a Grandson to extend the franchise? Did they just get tired of making money?

.

It appears they didn't make money on the last film.

I stopped watching the franchise after the third movie...I simply lost interest.

"The Terminator franchise has grossed over $2.07 billion worldwide across its six main films.  The highest-grossing entry is Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), which earned approximately $520.9 million globally.  The original The Terminator (1984) made $78.4 million, while Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) grossed $433 million.  Terminator Genisys (2015) earned $440.6 million, and Terminator Salvation (2009) brought in $371.4 million.  The most recent film, Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), underperformed with $261.1 million worldwide, resulting in an estimated loss of $120–130 million" (LLM)