'Terminator Genisys': Cast Members, Director Salute Arnold Schwarzenegger

A new promotional film linked to “Terminator Genisys” has been released. It features actors Jai Courtney, Emilia Clarke, J.K. Simmons and Jason Clarke and director Alan Taylor as they talk about return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Terminator.

The promo film opens with Schwarzenegger ’s character jumping from a helicopter as he tells Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) “I will be back.” For Courtney, that Schwarzenegger quote is the most iconic in film history. Emilia Clarke says that no "Terminator" film can be done without the 67-year-old actor. “He is the first thing that comes to the mind when you think of all the ["Terminator"] movies,” she adds.

Schwarzenegger first played the role in 1984's “The Terminator.” According to Simmons, the character is “one of the iconic characters in the last 50 years.” Courtney adds that Schwarzenegger is quite “generous” and is a “great ensemble member.”

Taylor says he could not have imagined “Terminator Genisys” without Schwarzenegger. The promo film ends with Jason Clarke saying that the actor brings fantastic energy to the role.

“Terminator Genisys” opens July 1. It will show Schwarzenegger's character aging. “The way that the character is written, it's a machine underneath. It's this metal skeleton. But above that is human flesh. And the Terminator's flesh ages, just like any other human being,” Schwarzenegger told MTV.

The action in the film will take place in three timelines -- present, future and past -- and Schwarzenegger’s T-800 will have a younger version and an older, reprogrammed version called Gaurdian. The storyline concerns John Connor, who sends his trusted lieutenant Kyle Reese back in time to save his mother Sarah and ensure his own existence. But when Reese reaches the past he finds it has been changed and the task he came to execute has been taken care of. Now Sarah, Reese and Guardian must fight T-1000 and T-3000.

Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier have written the film based on characters created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd. David Ellison and Dana Goldberg are the producers and Lorne Balfe has supplied the music.