When Arnold Schwarzenegger finally made his much-anticipated leap into politics, film fans all over the world cried themselves to sleep at night at the prospect of never again seeing the 80s action supremo take out a superior force armed only with a paperclip, a cotton-wool ball and a witty quip delivered in a thick Germanic accent. Well, breathe easy people, because there are rumours today that, as he always promised us, he'll be back - in Terminator 4.
At least, maybe. The third sequel is underway - a script is apparently ready and filming is due to begin soon for a 2008 release, with Jonathan Mostow back (after T3) to direct again. But while Arnie won't be the main threat in the film, he's likely to cameo at some point - that much, at least, is apparently in his contract, and MGM chairman Harry Sloan has said that he expects him to cameo. (Sloan, incidentally, also announced that he has also greenlit The Topkapi Affair, the long-awaited sequel to The Thomas Crown Affair remake.)
So will Arnie really be back? Well, he could fit a quick cameo into his busy governating schedule during holiday time, but equally he could probably also change California's contract law to release himself from the deal, shut down Hollywood and secede from the Union if he tried hard enough and co-opted the weapons of the California National Guard, so fingers crossed but let's not get our hopes up just yet. We'll keep you up to date as we learn more...