WB on board for TERMINATOR SALVATION: THE FUTURE BEGINS

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins and will follow with two further films, in what will be a brand new trilogy in the series, which Variety claim will have one big storyline arc. Production will begin early next year to beat next summer's strike, with a mid-2009 release date planned alongside Justice League of America as Warner Brothers two big summer flicks. The Warner Brothers deal beat out MGM who were hoping to distribute the movie alongside Halycon but it will be WB once again, as they did for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. The budget is expected to be big, but it will not reach the $200 million of the last movie as it won't carry as many big name stars and will apparently have less of a complex financial structure. Arnie's last outing as the Terminator in 2003 made $150 million domestic, and $427 million worldwide. As we already know, the script comes from the writers of the last movie (which has to be worrying) and no director is attached as of yet, though MCG seems to the huge favourite at this point, unless the Internet backlash against his appointment has convinced them otherwise. The producers have said they have left it open for a cameo for Arnie but they don't expect him to return, though the trades say other characters from the series will return. Still no word on whether male model Michael Schenkenberg is The Terminator as previously reported. You gotta say, this is exactly what The Terminator needs. A brand new restart, focusing on new storylines and new acting talent, without worrying too much about what went on in the past. The title is absolutely frikkin' awful (Terminator Salvation is bad, but it would have been better without the subtitle) but we have to live with it now. The Terminator is back, though how completed post-production is before the early 2008 strike rush is another question entirely. Can't help but feel this movie fall victim to being rushed, and that sitting on the project another year wouldn't have hurt matters. TO KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE LATEST TERMINATOR NEWS, VISIT OUR MOVIE TRACKER PAGE HERE (we are slowly adding this again)