Producer James Middleton has his hands busy. Not only is he producing the fourth installment of the Terminator franchise, long ago rumored to be the first of a whole new trilogy, but he’s also producing the Sarah Connor Chronicles TV series. Sci Fi Wire got a chance to talk to Middleton, and he cleared up some things about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s potential involvement in T4, the role of John Connor in the new trilogy, and who this “new guy” is that everyone’s talking about…

On Arnold’s potential involvement in T4 (via):

…James Middleton…told SCI FI Wire that California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will definitely not be in the movie or any of the contemplated sequels in what is expected to be a new trilogy of films.

“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 he is governor, he’s got priorities that are above doing movies.” There is no possibility of Schwarzenegger appearing in Terminator Salvation or subsequent films as long as he is governor, Middleton added.

He’s way too old, anyway, although I wouldn’t mind seeing, say, a CGI in version or something.

And about John Connor’s role in T4 and that “new guy”:

Middleton also disputed earlier reports about the role of John Connor, saying that the character will definitely be central in the film, titled Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Middleton said that the movie will also introduce a key new character.

“It’s set after the events of [Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines], 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,” Middleton added. “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.”

As for John Connor, who was played in T3 by Nick Stahl: “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. No actor has been chosen yet to play Connor in Terminator Salvation, though Batman Begins star Christian Bale is rumored to be in line for the role.

I don’t know how plugged in Middleton is after reading these comments. It’s been all over the trades and back again that Christian Bale has signed on for John Connor, but Middleton is still all fuzzy about it. Huh?