An untested production company has secured Christian Bale's signature for a new trilogy of Terminator films and the coveted rights to the entire estate of Philip K Dick

He did say he would be back, but whether he can combine being the 38th governor of California and a relentless killing machine is another question. What is certain is that Terminator is back for another three outings.

Producers behind the next trilogy are in Cannes to discuss the return of one of the most successful ever science fiction franchises.

Production began three weeks ago with Christian Bale starring as John Connor, fighting to save humanity against the machines.

But are the rumours true that Arnold Schwarzenegger will return, even briefly, to his "I'll be back" role?

"Unfortunately that's something we can't tell you," said producer Victor Kubicek. Does that mean he could be? "I can't tell you that either. Sorry. I really can't tell you."

Derek Anderson, co-producer of the trilogy, added: "At the moment we're keeping everything under lock and key. We want the fans to be really excited and surprised."

So the surprise is he will be back? Silence.

Kubicek and Anderson are the men behind the Halcyon Company which has not only bought the rights to the Terminator franchise, but has secured first option on filming the still largely untapped works of science fiction writer Philip K Dick.

In a previous life Kubicek was the youngest person to hold a seat on the American stock exchange while Anderson's background is advertising and marketing. They both claim to be diehard Terminator anoraks.

"We were both big Terminator fans which is why we acquired the franchise. We're approaching it as real fans - what would make us really happy to see in the next Terminator movie?" said Anderson.

"It's about it being fresh, exciting and have all the action and intensity everyone expects from a Terminator film with real heart and soul." The first movie, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, is due to be released this time next year complete with online and offline games.

Kubicek and Anderson said the budget would be around what was spent on Terminator 3 which, given it was reportedly the most expensive independently produced movie ever at $187m, is quite a budget.

The return of Terminator carries on the Hollywood tradition of reviving successful franchises to varying degrees of success - Indiana Jones this week, Rambo, Rocky, Die Hard over the past year - but the producers are adamant that there is fresh life in this particular series.

"If you think of where Terminator 3 left off, there's still a lot of potential story to be told," said Anderson. "This film is all set in the future and a lot of the real fans want to know what happens. Being huge fans, we wanted to know the rest of the story."

Anderson and Kubicek met three years ago and set up Halcyon after they realised they shared a love of science fiction and gaming. Neither man appears to be a stereotypical movie mogul: "We came from the outside in which has allowed us to do things differently," said Kubicek.

Winning first option on Dick's writing is certainly eye catching. His stories have been adapted into movies such as Blade Runner, Minority Report and Total Recall and influenced others including The Matrix, but with 44 novels and more than 120 short stories in the canon, Halcyon believe there is a huge seam left to be exploited. "It truly is a treasure trove," said Kubicek.

The early plans include two movies, a major animation and two games based on his work as a direct result of the partnership deal with the Dick estate.

"Philip's daughters have never allowed anyone this kind of access before," said Kubicek. "We've forged a very trusting relationship with them and we truly share a similar sensibility. Until we closed the deal we didn't realise how coveted the library was in Hollywood."

The Terminator 4 director is McG, responsible for the Charlie's Angels movies, and Bale is signed up for all three instalments of the next trilogy while Australian actor Sam Worthington is playing another lead character called Marcus after being recommended for the role by original Terminator director James Cameron.

Terminator: the story so far

It all started with Schwarzenegger as a cyborg sent back from the future to murder Sarah Connor in order to prevent her unborn son, John, from going on to lead a successful resistance against the robots and saving humanity. Needless to say, he failed.

Pretty much the same thing happened the next time round, only Schwarzenegger played a good Terminator, sent to protect the sectioned Sarah Connor from a later model. In the third, Rise of the Machines, an even more souped-up Terminator attempts to kill off John Connor and his future wife Kate. Now the fourth, fifth and sixth promise to reveal what was going on in the future.