It seems The Terminator franchise is up for grabs, with some thinking it could sell for as much as $200 million. Halycon – the current owners – are filing chapter 11 after some bad investments. Still, having bought the franchise just two years ago for $25 million, selling it for $200 million isn’t exactly a poor return on their investment.

So some Terminator fans are wondering who is going to buy it and whether they can turn out anything on film that matches or even comes close to James Cameron’s Terminator 2. Others hope that the appreciated but ultimately canceled show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will enjoy a reappearance. Of course, for Hollywood, some things are simply too logical to occur, like making a sequel to insanely loved and successful film Serenity.

However, it’s far more likely that the same thing will happen to the Terminator franchise as happens to virtual all franchises where audiences are guaranteed: it will run even further downhill in a stream of campy, half-ass projects meant only to glean as much money from the success of the first two films as possible. In short, Cameron’s amazing success on T2 will mean that subsequent films only have to be half as good to make money. It’s hard to pinpoint what made the most recent iteration – Terminator: Salvation – fall short of the mark. But even with Christian Bale, excellent effects, and an interesting story, the film indeed lacks something special – whatever ingredient the first two films were able to tap into.

While no company – even one going through chapter 11 – is every going to risk a certain $200 million, I propose another path for the Terminator saga. Like a future ruled by Skynet and the machines, this path is also only a possibility, and not even one that we’re likely to see anytime soon.

How about if instead of selling off a storyline that has become an iconic imagine of our tech-obsessed world to the highest bidder, they give it to the fans. That means lifting all restrictions of copyright on future products. If anyone wants to write a story, make a movie, create an action figure, or code a game based on the Terminator series, then let them without any injunctions. But add one stipulation: that the company that owns the franchise can monetize those creations.

Imagine it: instead of a $250 million dollar piece of garbage being the next film to bear the Terminator name, it’s a series of fan-made shorts airing in theaters. Maybe live-action, maybe CGI, maybe animated. I have zero doubts that whatever fans produced would be far superior to what Hollywood would (not could) make in terms of story, content, and that all-too-allusive heart. Sure, major studies can pull big names, so blockbusters can (but often don’t) have solid acting and amazing effects.

But consider the difference between fan-made The Hunt for Gollum and billion-dollar Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson, et al. Indeed, Jackson’s work is finer in terms of effects and the overall hotty factor of his elves, but these differences are in no way proportional to the difference in cost. In other words, the maker of The Hunt for Gollum came eerily close to Lord of the Rings without being in the same solar system so far as costs go. The same would indeed happen with Terminator.

Of course it would prove a huge gamble, but since so few fan-made projects have enjoyed big-budget advertising and buzz-making, it’s hard to tell how much money they would make. Then again, there simply wouldn’t be that much money you would have to make. When some 60% of films don’t make it into the black at theaterical release, you have to wonder how much money is too much when it comes to the production. You may create an amazing film in terms of set, effects, and cast, but if it cost you $300 million and the film itself lacks any real heart, then you’ve got a long way to go to realize gain. Distribute a shoestring budget production for fans by fans, and you’re only risking the cost of advertising.

Like I said, this is about as likely to happen as is the Skynet holocaust, but what a beautiful possibility.