Bale Goes Batty for Terminator 4

John Connor won't just be back. He'll also be bat.

The Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale, has signed on to star as the heir to the cyborg-battling rebellion in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, the long-awaited fourth installment in the Terminator franchise.

While details on the film's plot have been kept under tight wraps, per the Hollywood Reporter, the action this time around will follow Connor, now in his thirties, leading the remainder of the human race in its ever-worsening battle against the machines.

However, reports have also been circulating that Bale's role, despite the party tag line, will not be as leading as it seems and that while Connor will indeed lead the rebellion, the next batch of films will actually feature a different character at the center of the action.

Taking on a smaller part in the series would seemingly make sense for Bale, who will no doubt need to devote increasing amounts of time to the revamped Batman franchise in future years.
Size of the part aside, Bale will join the ranks of previous Connor channelers Edward Furlong and Nick Stahl, both of whom played the character in T2 and T3, respectively.

Earlier this year the Halcyon Company, which produces the Terminator flicks, announced it would be reviving the blockbuster series with at least three new installments. Rather than picking up where Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines left off, however, the fourth installment will instead mark the beginning of a new trilogy.

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins has already been fast-tracked for production, with producers looking to get the film in theaters by summer 2009, when its premiere will coincide with the release of a new Terminator video game.

Their haste in pushing the film into theaters is understandable as the franchise has so far grossed just over $1 billion since the first Terminator was released in 1984.
This time around, McG will direct the flick, which will be released by Warner Bros.
For those Terminator fans who can't wait 18 months for their cyborg-battling fix, Fox is offering a timely reprieve.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles, an hourlong action drama based around the Terminator character—the would-be mother of John—as well as the mythology surrounding the movies, is set to make its two-night premiere on the network Jan. 13 and 14.