Arnold Schwarzenegger is returning to his most famous film franchise.

According to fan site TheArnoldFans, the former governor of California was in Australia this week, speaking at the 21st Century Financial Education Summit. Of course, the conversation naturally shifted to his movie career, at which point Schwarzenegger said he would reprise his role as the Terminator.

“I’m very happy that the studios want me to be in ‘Terminator 5’ and to star as the Terminator, which we start shooting in January, and I’m also going to do King Conan -- to play that role and also to do another ‘Twins’ movie. So I feel very proud of that. I feel very happy, and I’m looking forward to doing those films,” Schwarzenegger reportedly said.

It’s no secret that Schwarzenegger is desperately in need of a hit. His latest film, “The Last Stand,” which co-starred Johnny Knoxville, tanked at the box office, pulling in just $37,150,299 with a budget of $30 million.

“All eyes were on this movie, and appropriately so,” box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian told the Hollywood Reporter. “If you want to mount a comeback, this is not the way you want to start. But in Hollywood, you get several chances. If I were him, I’d get ‘Terminator 5’ on the fast track.”

It seems as though The Governator has heeded that advice.

Deadline Hollywood reported the latest installment in the lucrative series will be co-produced by Paramount Pictures, David Ellison of Skydance Productions and Megan Ellison of Annapurna Pictures, who reportedly shelled out about $20 million for the “Terminator” sequel rights. The producers have roped in Laeta Kalogridis (“Alexander,” “Avatar,” “Shutter Island”) and Patrick Lussier to pen the screenplay. No director has officially signed on, but names such as Kathryn Bigelow (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Hurt Locker”) and Justin Lin (of the “Fast and Furious” franchise) have been bandied about, according to Deadline.

With filming expected to begin in January, timing is of the essence. As Deadline pointed out, North American copyright law dictates that the rights to the “Terminator” franchise revert back to creator James Cameron in 2019, meaning there’s a limit to the number of films that can be made between now and then.

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