For most, the future is uncertain, but for Halcyon Co. the apocalypse is set in stone. The battle of man vs machine will continue in 2011 with the fifth installment as the newly refreshed TERMINATOR franchise is already in development. Christian Bale will be returning as John Connor (he’s signed on for the sixth film as well) and McG will once again lead the battle from behind his camera. Terminator Salvation (trailer) is currently in post with a release planned for May 22. The story is pretty interesting as McG is apparently afraid of flying…. you can read all about it inside.
The Terminator will be back.

Halcyon Co. toppers Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek are developing a fifth instalment of the man-vs.-machine franchise.

Helmer McG, who directed the upcoming fourth pic, “Terminator Salvation,” is working with the Halcyon duo on the latest project.

Announcement was among the news that came out of the Dubai Intl. Film Festival, which bowed Dec. 11 and runs through Thursday.

McG was in Dubai for the announcement, despite his well-known fear of flying, which led to him dropping out of the Oz-shot “Superman Returns.” He mentioned that incident in remarks during the announcement.

No decision has been made as to where to film the next “Terminator,” although the Middle East was mentioned as a locale.

When Anderson and Kubicek acquired the rights the lucrative “Terminator” franchise last year from previous owners C2, the former ad exec and banker envisaged the re-booted series as a trilogy. Christian Bale has signed on in the role of John Connor for all three roles. Newest pic is tentatively skedded for a 2011 release.

The duo had originally planned to wait until the release of “Terminator Salvation” next summer before deciding on whether to proceed with the next chapter, but the positive studio, fan and media reaction to footage from the current pic has encouraged them to move forward ahead of schedule.

“We feel the time is now to start shaping the next part of this,” Kubicek said.

Warner Bros. is handling the domestic release of “Terminator Salvation” with Sony handling the majority of the rest of the world, with the exception of the Middle East where the film is being handled by Dubai-based Gulf Film.

No decision has been made yet on whether the fifth “Terminator” will be once again split by Warner Bros. and Sony.

“Terminator” vidgame, which has been developed inhouse through the Halcyon Games division, will be released day-and-date with the live action pic.

SALVATION is about John Connor, now in his 30s and soon to be wife Kate Brewster realize they must create a resistance organization with Earth’s remaining survivors against the army of robots slowly being built up by Skynet. As they are building this resistance, one survivor happens to be a traitor in disguise, and has a secret that nobody would ever come to suspect.