Bale gets ‘Terminated’?

A few weeks ago, Ain’t It Cool News reported that none other than The Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale, is in talks to star in Terminator: Salvation, the first installment of a proposed new trilogy of Terminator films. Now, The Hollywood Reporter is confirming that Bale is indeed in negotiations to star in the film- scheduled for release in the summer of 2009. Director McG, of Charley’s Angels fame, has already signed on to direct. The film is a joint production between Halcyon Company & Intermedia, and the film will be distributed by Warner Bros.  

Word has it that Bale will not be playing a Terminator a la Schwarzenegger, but will instead be playing John Connor. Those who have followed the series will recall that in the last film- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Connor was played by Nick Stahl. 

As far as I’m concerned, the addition of Bale to the franchise is a brilliant move. Bale is both an incredible dramatic actor, and a believable action hero. Obviously, Governor Schwarzenegger is a tad long in the tooth to play a Terminator again, so it’s nice to see that the filmmakers are going in another direction.  Another Terminator spin-off, The Sarah Connors Chronicles, is currently in production as a TV series to be launched on Fox in the New Year.