Last week I got a bizarre bit of info from a trusted source. Christian Bale, I was told, is in Terminator Salvation, aka Terminator 4. This scooper is gold, but said that I should try to confirm this one on my own, since it was so weird. For the last two days I’ve been trying to get something out of Bale’s publicist or agent, and have had no luck.

What do I get for trying to confirm a story? Scooped. Harry at Aint It Cool has run the Bale in Terminator story, and I am assuming he got it from another source who he trusts as much as I trust mine. The interesting thing is that he got it a little different from what I got – my source had him AS The Terminator, while Harry has him as John Connor.After doing some thinking, Bale starring in this film makes sense. First of all, he has nothing lined up during the strike except Killing Pablo, and we all know that Joe Carnahan movies can come and go in a moment’s notice. But also, Bale wants a payday. My understanding is that he’s not making movie star money from the Batman films, and he needs to make movie star money if he’s going to go off for six months and not get paid to make a small indie. A three picture Terminator deal ensures that Bale can keep following his muse and make the movies he wants to make, as well as pay the mortgage.

The question is – is he John Connor or The Terminator? Who else is better to play an unsmiling robot than Mr. Grim himself? And the bad guy role isn’t a bad one in this franchise, after all. But of course he’d make a fine – and very grim – rebel leader as well. I’d actually like to see Bale as the Terminator – I feel like he has the kind of menace that could be fun in that role. For the movie Bale’s presence adds a ton of cred – not just with the geeks but with the critics. And if you’re McG, it helps you ensure that maybe your film is a little bit better than it might otherwise have been.

Of course none of this is official, but I imagine I was getting stonewalled precisely because this deal is happening. Expect an official announcement in the coming days.

UDATE: Is it possible that Bale is not playing either John Connor OR the Terminator? I’m hearing buzz that he’s playing a character who is new to the Terminator mythology. More as I get it

Source: CHUD