Terminator release date confirmed

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins features Batman Begins star Christian Bale as rebel leader John Connor.

Charlie's Angels director McG will take the helm on the movie, which is expected to be the first in a new Terminator trilogy.

Production will begin in May this year in New Mexico in the US and will be the biggest film ever shot in the state.

McG said in a statement that New Mexico represented an arid Western United States in a post-apocalyptic future.

"This is the story of a man's search for belief in himself and his fellow man. It's a long journey and the landscape plays a critical role," he said.

The film will open against family film Night at the Museum II: Escape From the Smithsonian - the sequel to the 2006 film starring Ben Stiller as a night security guard who realises the exhibits where he works come to life when the sun goes down.

The last Terminator movie - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - starring California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was released in 2003 and earned $150.4m (£75.7m) in the US.