After Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines failed to live up to fans’ expectations and with the original Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, acting as governor of California, the franchise seemed to be, well, terminated.

Six years later, director McG, known more for his small-screen work than the big screen, is hoping to resurrect the franchise and bring credibility back to the robo-violent films with the fourth installment, Terminator: Salvation, which came out May 21. North by Northwestern recently had a chance to talk to McG in a conference call about his inspiration for the plot, getting the blessing of James Cameron, possible sequels to Salvation and other works he has planned.

You were recently quoted in an article saying, “You’ve got to earn your stripes and pay your dues and I am certainly willing to earn mine. Fortunately, I am most comfortable in this genre, ironically.” Is the reason you are most comfortable with this genre because you in fact grew up on it?

Yeah, I grew up loving these films. These are the films of my childhood that I loved the most. [...] I was excited about the challenge of Charlie’s Angels because people said that you couldn’t make successful female-driven action franchise. I thought that was bullshit, you certainly can. So we got some talented girls that were funny and physical and wonderful to entertain, and I think we broke down that glass ceiling. Now here I am making a Terminator movie, which speaks most directly to the films I am most passionate about — those that are most exciting to watch for two hours. But by the same token, on the way back to the car and hopefully for many days afterward, you contemplate what was being suggested in the film. I think that the first Matrix picture does that at a very, very high level.

How do you feel that Terminator: Salvation upholds the franchise?

We wanted to be respectful of what James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger put into motion all those years ago. I was raised on those pictures. It was important for me to go down and kiss the ring of Jim Cameron and kiss the ring of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I remember asking for Jim Cameron’s blessing and he said, “I’m not going to give you my fucking blessing, what are you talking about?” He said, “I don’t know what you are going to do with the movie and I haven’t read the script.” We both kinda giggled and he said, “I sure hope you make a good picture, not a bad picture.” He went on to tell me the story of how he went on following Ridley Scott after Alien. People wondered who the hell is this guy Jim Cameron who did Piranha 2 and how does he have the balls to follow Ridley Scott after Alien? Alien is a very sacred picture to everybody and at the end of the day, he followed the mythology very well, and I think we are all happy that he made Aliens, the follow-up to Alien. That was a great picture and obviously Jim’s gone on to do great things. I will never be so bold as to say that I will have the same luck, but I promise you that I will try as hard as I can.

When this film was announced, you guys knew that Arnold Schwarzenegger would not be involved and he was the reason why these films had been so successful. So when you were first asked to do this project, was there any hesitation or doubt in that Arnold wouldn’t be involved, or did you know exactly how you wanted to approach this film?

I had a very clear vision about approaching the film because I wanted the film to take place after Judgment Day. The first three films were present day pictures with Terminators coming back in time [...] I didn’t want to just make a fourth picture that was effectively a transvestite coming back to haunt one of the Connor’s in the fourth one. We needed to do something different and that’s why we landed on talking about the future war after Judgment Day and in doing so, that took the burden off of having Schwarzenegger in the film. Then we figured out a clever way to have Schwarzenegger, or rather the T-800, show up in the picture as you and I remember the T-800 from the very first film. That is the one digital effects offering that we give to the community to hopefully help them feel honored. It was something Industrial Light Magic cooked up and it was very, very difficult to write the code to do it, and ultimately what you get is a photorealistic looking Arnold Schwarzenegger from the first Terminator movie.

Are we just expecting a cameo or does he have sort of a part in the movie?

It’s hard to characterize. It’s not quite a cameo, it’s not quite a large part in the movie, but I wanted to show respect for the hardcore fan base, and we always want to find that balance between how much you call back to the first three movies and how much you work to create your own identity. I feel very confident that, led by Christian Bale, we each created own identity, our own look and our own feel in the movie; but it was also nice to have Schwarzenegger return for that brief moment and I think, when you see it, it feels very gratifying.

Getting Christian Bale attached to the project was a really genius way of bringing the film the credibility it deserves, after losing Arnold and after the (hot mess) third film. How were you able to convince Bale that John Connor was the right role for him, since he is more of a character actor and summer flicks are not usually his thing?

We talked very specifically about his character having a beginning, middle and an end, and a destiny that is more of a burden than an asset. I mean, here’s a guy being told, hey you have to lead us to salvation and sometimes you’ll notice in the picture he wishes the bullet would find him. There is some real responsibility with when someone taps you on the shoulder and says, you’re the one, and you say, “I’m just a computer hacker named Neo.” And they say, “No, no, no, no, you are much more than that.” The same thing goes for John Connor. He didn’t ask for this responsibility, but he knows that it is his calling to assume it, drill out and make it happen on behalf of humanity and the Resistance. It is a tremendous burden and watching Christian Bale manage that is the joy of the picture.

Was any of the set computer-generated?

Very little. We built everything, we hired Sam Winston to build all the machines, we built all the sets, we shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico to get that vast desert landscape and we went to all the oil refineries to get the look of Skynet. Then, on occasion, we did CG extension, but anytime an actor had to interact with something physically, that was indeed built. I think that leads to a better performance, because when you put a tennis ball on a C stand and tell an actor “Hey that’s the scary Terminator’s face,” that doesn’t get you a good of performance as having a seven foot Terminator breathing down your neck, and if you smash it with your hand you break your hand. Christian (Bale) smashed up his hand and Sam (Worthington) hurt his back, which really added to the patina of realness.

How does the tone of this film differ from the other films since it takes place after Judgment Day? Also, if you do make another Terminator movie, will Christian Bale be in it?

The tone is different because it is indeed after Judgment Day. I think the film had become a bit farcical after the third Terminator and we wanted to get back with credibility. We wanted to make sure to honor the audience by saying, “Hey, we take this very seriously and we want to get it right so you feel respected as fans.”

Christian and I are both signed up to do a second picture, but we would never be so bold to presume a second picture. That’s in the hands of you guys. If you guys get online and talk about how you want another one, we are going to be ready to talk about what happens to Skynet, what happens to Connor, how did Marcus get that way, where’s little Kyle Reese headed, the whole nine yards. Not to mention, we haven’t even gotten into time travel yet. I am thinking about making the next picture a present day picture where Connor goes back in time to 2011 and has to galvanize the armed forces of the world to take on an impending invasion from Skynet from the future, because they figured out how to send more than just one naked body at a time. You effectively have our answer to Independence Day, and I think that movie could be absolutely phenomenal.

You are at the point in your career where you are a standing producer and director. Do projects sort of fall into your lap or are there still things that are off limits to you? Are there things that you still want to do?

Absolutely, you have to earn it every step of the way. I am attached to this play Spring Awakening that ran in New York for a while, that swept the Tony’s that is effectively a tragedy. I am very excited about making that picture and bringing it to the big screen, but I’m also developing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and I’m chasing Will Smith to be in that, which should be a really fun action-adventure based in the 19th century classic literature of Jules Verne. Then, who knows, with a little luck we will be right back after it with a second and a third picture in Terminator. Then we also have our T.V. world going with Supernatural going into season five and Chuck just got picked up for season three, and now we have a new show called Human Target going on Fox, which was based on a DC Comic property that we are very excited about. As a vote of confidence from Fox, they gave us the spot right after American Idol, so I can’t complain. Things are good and I am always looking to talk to people like you guys for fresh new ideas and keep it cracking.