I, Robot?

It's official: the forces of Skynet will be back for a fourth attempt to squash humanity, with shooting on Terminator 4 scheduled to begin in 2005. "Eh?" you say, rather inarticulately, "but surely they wouldn't do such a thing without the lumbering, Austrian Terminator we've all come to know and love." Well, actually they would, but don't count the Governor out just yet. Discussions are ongoing with Schwarzenegger - who's already pretty busy running California and trying to get that Bush chap re-elected - and we may yet see him return to cause more mechanical mayhem. But don't expect a leading role. If he signs on at all, Arnold's role will likely be a small one, leaving the fourth instalment to break in an entirely new model of Terminator. Since they've already done the shapeshifter and one that can operate electrical appliances, what can we expect for the fourth generation of killing machine? A jet pack? Roller blades? The ability to start first time on a January morning? We'll keep you posted. Meanwhile the script for T4 is essentially complete thanks to the screenwriters behind Rise Of The Machines, and director Jonathan Mostow has cleared a space in his calendar to direct the film after completing work on his next project. Claire Danes and Nick Stahl are a little less certain though, as neither of them have signed on for another film. Which you'd think is something of a problem given how the third film finished.