Linda Hamilton explains her return to The Terminator after nearly 30 years

Whilst Terminator fans the world over are getting tentatively excited about the sixth installment of the Terminator franchise - Terminator: Dark Fate, Linda Hamilton has now opened up on why she decided to return nearly 30 years after Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Terminator: Dark Fate will see both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton reprise their infamous roles as the original Terminator (T-800 / T-850 Model 101) and Sarah Connor. As Terminator fans will know, the last time we saw Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor in the films was Terminator 2, released in 1991.

In the third film (released in 2003) we find out that she 'died' after a battle with leukemia, followed by Linda briefly reprising her role, just as a voiceover in Terminator Salvation in 2009.

Linda, who is now 62-years-old, has opened up as to why she was keen to reprise her role. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the actress said, "There is a real gift in that so much time has passed, and that gives me so much more to explore with the character.

"Sarah Connor is the same person, but I wanted to see how the difference in events have changed her and shaped her and send her forward. There was meat there. I didn’t want to just recycle the same idea. It’s a woman who has a different mission, a different story, so I wanted to see what we could do with that."

When asked if she thought she had finished playing the iconic role, she admitted she had, "It was many, many years of just being sure that it was done, that I was done. I kept saying, 'Yeah, yeah, if I’m in one now it’s like the geriatrics era.' Which is actually kind of true. I never saw this coming, which made it that much more interesting."

During the interview, Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller also revealed, "But you know what, I honestly believe this would be the best version of the movie after the second one. This will be more clear when you see the movie, but the first two movies really deal with time as a loop, what’s happening is the same thing that happened before and everybody is fighting to ensure that happens again."

Linda's Sarah Connor was iconic at the time for being a strong female character lead, and reflecting on her role, Linda admitted that she was overwhelmed by it to begin with, "I worked damn hard. I spent a year-plus training really hard and working on her walk and exploring her deep sorrows and just so many elements, and more so, because there is a path there," she told Entertainment Weekly.

"By the time we started, I felt ready, but a year-plus before that, I was pretty overwhelmed with a sense of obligation and duty and love for the character, just really trying to make sure that we honored the past and created something new for the future."

Terminator: Dark Fate is due for release in November this year and along with Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising their roles, James Cameron, the original writer and director, will be returning to write and produce the new film.

WATCH: The trailer for Terminator: Dark Fate

Now take a look at which series you should watch on Netflix:

Tune into Northern Ireland's Home of Great Music, Downtown Radio on FM, AM, DAB Digital Radio, online, on our Rayo app and by asking your smart speaker to 'Play Downtown Radio'. Gary & Glen kick things off every weekday morning and Neal McClelland brings you home on Downtown Drive.

• The Terminator
• linda hamilton
• sarah connor