Arnold Won’t “Be Back!”

Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be returning to the franchise that made him an international cinematic superstar. At least that is the latest word from the associate producer for the next film in the Terminator series.

James Middleton told a crowd of fans and reporters in Los Angeles that as long as Governor Schwarzenegger is tied to his current position as Executive leader of the State of California, there is simply no time in his busy schedule to make room for this current new film. If he gets re-elected, which most political pundits believe will certainly happen, then he will also not be available for the other two films in the next Terminator trilogy.

“He has been approached, and in the early days of our development of T4, one of our producers, Andy Vajna, who’s a good friend of his, spoke to him about doing a cameo,” Middleton said. “This was even before he was governor. But we know now that [since] he is governor, he’s got priorities that are above doing movies.”

The fourth film in the series is titled “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” and will take up where the last film, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” left off.

“It’s post-apocalyptic,” Middleton said. “It’s set after the events of [Terminator 3], where we see the nuclear exchange at the end of the movie, and we show what the world is like after this event, and we show how people try to deal in a post-apocalyptic world. And we introduce a new character, who becomes very important to the resistance and to John Connor, a new hero. It’s really about the birth of a new hero,” Middleton added.

Middleton also revealed a little more about the more grown-up John Connor. “I would look at him as a character that is introduced and that will grow in the second and third movies of the trilogy,” Middleton said.

While it has been rumored that Christian Bale is in negotiations for the role of Connor, no official announcement has come from Middleton or any other studio spokesperson.

Production on the first in the new trilogy of Terminator films was to begin in April of this year, but that could be delayed depending on the length of the current writer’s strike. “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” is set for a release sometime in 2009.