There is an official blog for the production of Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, and the first post was made last Friday by producer McG.

Photography has started on the film, with a scene bring shot at Griffith Observatory with Anton Yelchin and Sam Worthington, who play Kyle Reese and Marcus Wright respectively. McG has already seen a cut of that initial shot and was pretty happy.

He has some great stuff to say about how much he know the films are important to fans and his drive to make them great:

Like you guys, I’ve been a long-time fan of the series and I understand your passion for the Terminator movies — and it’s my full intention to deliver a film that lives up to the previous three installments. I’ve spent time with James Cameron, spoken to Arnold Schwarzenegger, gone over the story with Jonah Nolan, and enlisted Stan Winston. Everything we’re shooting is designed to be tactile and real, you’ll be seeing a whole set of inspired designs you’ve never seen before, and best of all you’ll finally get to see some of the post-judgment day future that was only hinted at in the previous movies. John Connor will be pushed to the brink. And for me, Christian Bale embodies Connor’s strength and tenacity perfectly.

Below is an image he posted that is preliminary concept art for a post-judgment day Los Angeles. Pretty cool. I have to say, I’m slowly starting to get psyched for these Terminator sequels.

(Click on the image for the larger version.)

[Terminator Salvation]

Common will play a freedom fighter and member of John Connor’s (played by Christian Bale) inner circle. The story of the film centers on John Connor who is now in his 30s and who now leads what is left of the human race in a battle against the machines.

The cast list right now looks like this:

• Christian Bale – John Connor, leader of the resistance
• Sam Worthington – a central character in the planned three picture arc
• Anton Yelchin – Connor’s friend and future father Kyle Reese
• Moon Bloodgood – a no-nonsense and battle-hardened member of the resistance who is carrying a lot of guilt over surviving the nuclear holocaust
• Common – freedom fighter and member of John Connor’s inner circle
• Josh Brolin (rumored) – director mentioned him as an ideal Terminator, but has not been confirmed for the cast

McG is directing from a script by John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris, and Paul Haggis.

Terminator 4 is set to hit theaters on May 22, 2009.

In fact, The Hollywood Reporter reports that Moon Bloodgood is in final negotiations to join the cast of the film as the female lead. Most of you will probably remember Bloodgood from NBC’s short-lived series “Journeyman” (or ABC’s short-lived series “Day Break”).

In the fourth installment of the “Terminator” movie series Bloodgood will play a no-nonsense and battle-hardened member of the resistance who is carrying a lot of guilt over surviving the nuclear holocaust. She will be joining Christian Bale, Sam Worthington and Anton Yelchin who have already been cast in the film.

Principal photography is set to begin May 5, with Charlie’s Angels director McG at the helm. Terminator 4 is set for release on May 22, 2009.

According to Terminator mythology (which is getting more complicated all the time), Reese was born after the first war and survived the capture and killing of his fellow humans only to be put into one of Skynet’s concentration camps. John Connor, Reese’s son, led a resistance movement that freed Reese and some others from the Skynet camp. Reese then volunteered to go back in time to the year 1984 to protect Sarah Connor, the mother of John Connor who is the resistance leader, from a Terminator sent by Skynet to kill her before she can give birth to John to stop him from leading the resistance.

As will sometimes happen when you time travel, Reese gets into some shenanigans that actually bring about the future he’s trying to save…don’t ask me about the paradox effect. All I know is that while running from the Terminator (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger), Reese and Sarah have a night of “relations” that ultimately impregnates Sarah and brings about her son, John. Reese was later killed by his own pipe-bomb while attempting to destroy the Terminator. I’m not sure how the TV series has added to this story.

Now, from what we know about Terminator 4, Reese becomes friends with Marcus (played by Sam Worthington – now cutting his chops on James Cameron’s Avatar), an early version of the Terminator played by Arnold Schwarzenegger from the first film. Christian Bale will play a 30 year old John Connor now fighting desperately to save a decimated civilization against machines that have taken control. Other plot details are still sketchy.

With production scheduled to start in early May, Paul Haggis (writer of Crash, Casino Royale, Quantum Of Solace) also has been in talks about coming on board to do some rewrites on the script. David Campbell Wilson, John Brancato and Michael Ferris wrote the screenplay.

So what do you think? Will Anton Yelchin make a good Reese?

That’s right, it didn’t take them long at all to think of a title even dumber than the title they got rid of (somehow I knew it wouldn’t). Terminator 4 shall henceforth be known as Terminator: The Return of the Terminator. For some reason, every time I say that the song “Return of the Mack” pops into my head.

No, doesn’t sound any better when you write it out all by itself and say it over and over to yourself. I’m not a terminator expert or anything, but I don’t even think it makes sense.

What do you guys think? Good title? Stupid Title? Better than the last title?

The initial name, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, has been dumped in favor of…well, nothing. Yet.

As of right now, according to ComingSoon.net, the film no longer has a title. And there isn’t really anymore information on why not.

UPDATE: Yeah, it has a title now, didn’t take too long and it sucks. I wish they’d taken my suggestion below instead.

The only explanation is the fact that the title just isn’t going over well and I for one am glad they are making this change. While I’m one who likes the Quantum of Solace name, this Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins was just too long for my tastes.

Now, I do like a shorter version: Terminator: The Future Begins. It sort of goes along with the previous good film: Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

The movie stars Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, and is set to release on May 22nd, 2009.

Terminator Salvation will star Christian Bale as John Connor, and Sam Worthington as some guy named Marcus who is actually the lead in the movie.

Salvation will start off a three-movie arch that will tell the story of the War against the Machines, and begins shortly after most of mankind has been wiped out from the nuclear holocaust that Skynet causes.

What is sort of interesting for me is that this is taking place next year, 2009, which will (hopefully) be right after season 2 of The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

The point of these TV series right now is the struggle to stop Skynet from ever happening. Well, if we have three movies planned beginning in 2009 that take place after Skynet kills most of the human race, how will they create interest in the show when we know they fail?

Essentially, we know their fight right now is useless and pointless. What might be cool, in my opinion, is to make the series actually end after the second season in time for the movies. Let the holocaust happen.

Maybe that’s lame, but it just seems odd to me to keep a show going when the endgame is already determined. Perhaps things will happen along the way that shed light on the events after Judgment Day, but who knows. I just am not sure what they can keep coming up with to make it worth keeping around when the next chapter in the story has been told.

What is kind of cool to me is to FINALLY see how things will end up. We’ve seen so much about how mankind gets destroyed and that there are resistance fighters, but we have no clue how it all will play out. It should be fun to see that happen.

Anyways, what do you guys think about all this? Excited about Bale in the next Terminator? Do you think it sort of ruins The Sarah Connor Chronicles at all?

Well, we now know who will be playing the lead and what the character’s name is, and, apparently, what role Bale will be playing. Sam Worthington has been cast in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins as a character known as Marcus. Marcus will be a central figure in a three-picture arc that begins after Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust. It appears as though Christian Bale will be playing John Connors after all and he will be leading a group of survivors who struggle to keep the machines from finishing the job.

Sam Worthington is still relatively unknown…for now. He’s appeared in Hart’s War and The Great Raid, but his breakout role is sure to be James Cameron’s big comeback, sci-fi actioner Avatar in which he plays paraplegic war veteran from Earth who’s brought to another planet inhabited by a race of humanoids at odds with Earth’s inhabitants.

Variety reports that Worthington was actually recommended to McG by Cameron, which would indicate things went well on Avatar. It probably doesn’t hurt to get a recommendation from the director of the first two Terminator movies either.

Avatar is currently slated for a December 18, 2009 release date. Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins is also aiming for a 2009 release date so we expect Sam Worthington to be a household name by 2010.