Rapper turned movie actor Common is the latest recruit to join “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins”, the fourth movie in the immensely popular “Terminator” franchise of films. Common (whose real name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.) will play a soldier in John Connor’s army of survivors, battling for the rest of humanity against the rise of Skynet and its army of killer robots. Christian Bale (“The Dark Knight”) is playing the adult John Connor while Sam Worthington (“Avatar”), Anton Yelchin (“Star Trek”) and Moon Bloodgood (“Eight Below”) round out the remainder of the cast. One past “Terminator” star who doesn’t appear to be invited to work on the new movie is current Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The picture is slated to start filming in New Mexico this summer and Schwarzenegger hasn’t been contacted about making an appearance in the film. Rumor has it that the Terminators we will see in “Salvation” will be of a different model than the T-800 that Schwarzenegger played in the first three “Terminator” films.

The man behind the cape and cowl is in talks to become the salvation of the “Terminator” movie franchise. Christian Bale is in negotiations to play the part of a thirty something John Connor, the leader of the human army that fights the machines in the science fiction movie saga. The character was first mentioned in the original “Terminator” but he hadn’t been born yet. The Terminators are sent back from the future where Connor has almost won the fight against Skynet to try and kill his pregnant mother and then later Connor when he was a child. Edward Furlong played the teenage John in “T2” and then Nick Stahl took over the role in “Terminator 3”.

“Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” will be directed by McG (“Charlie’s Angels”, “We Are Marshall”). Bale is the first actor to be linked to the movie which is scheduled to start filming in the spring of next year. The movie is scheduled for release in summer of 2009.

Bale is finishing up work on his second Batman movie titled “The Dark Knight”. Heath Ledger steps into the clown shoes of Jack Nicholson as The Joker in this new adventure with Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal rounding out the cast.