Looks like we won't be saying hasta la vista to The Terminator anytime soon.
Warner Bros. has snagged North American distribution rights to Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, the fourth installment in the killer cyborg franchise that, per Variety, producers hope to serve as a launch pad for a new trilogy of Terminator flicks.
The studio's deal with privately funded Halcyon, which controls the Terminator property, effectively guarantees Salvation will begin shooting early next year, for a summer 2009 release.
Perhaps just as importantly, the move derails rival MGM's attempts to acquire the picture for its own.
Halcyon snapped up the sequel, merchandising and licensing rights last spring from the franchise's original producers, Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar.
After some legal maneuvering from MGM and Warners, the latter eventually scored the distribution rights. Warners had the inside track after releasing the Jonathan Mostow-directed Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in 2003. The third film raked in $150 million stateside and $277 internationally.
With Warner Bros. aboard and a script in hand, Halcyon is now focusing on landing a foreign distributor for Salvation. Sony Pictures Entertainment has first shot at those rights, having released the previous entry overseas.
Also on the to-do list: finding a director. Current speculation suggests McG, best known for the Charlie's Angels movies, is the frontrunner.
As for the plot, producers say Salvation will have a different focus from its forebears, hence the absence of a numeral in the title.
"This is set in the future, in a full-scale war between Skynet and humankind," Halcyon cochief Anderson told Variety.
The original 1984 Terminator and 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day—both directed by James Cameron—as well as T3, all took place in the present and centered on cyborg assassins from the future sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor and her son, John, who is destined to lead the human resistance against the machines. The baddie 'bots are controlled by Skynet, a self-aware military computer network that made its debut at the end of the third movie.
"The third film was really the conclusion of what happened in the 'now.' You will find the most loved characters, but the intention here is to present a fresh new world and have this be the first of a trilogy," Terminator 3 exec producer Moritz Borman told Variety.
While it seems unlikely California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will reprise the robot role that launched him to superstardom, Borman is hoping for at least a cameo.
"He has an important job, as we know, and the final decision will be based on his desire and availability, along with what the director wants," Borman said. (T3 was Schwarzenegger's last major film role before his election.)
For those diehards who can't wait two years for the next movie, there's hope. Fox plans to launch The Sarah Connor Chronicles as a midseason series. The hourlong drama, starring 300's Lena Headey in the role originated by Linda Hamilton as the waitress turned heroine, focuses on Sarah and John's plight as they battle cyborg baddies in present-day L.A. It's set to debut Jan. 14.