It seems there is soon to be a battle for top male up-and-comer as Shia LaBeouf seemed to have things all locked up with the surprise success of Disturbia, the blockbuster Transformers and then getting cast as Indy’s son in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Of course Shia has a couple of years on Sam Worthington, but not only is Sam about to star in James Cameron’s big comeback sci-fi actioner Avatar he is now set to play the lead role in the revival of the Terminator franchise as Marcus in Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins for director McG.
Variety reports that the Aussie actor was actually recommended by Cameron, which indicates things went well on Avatar not to mention that a rec from the director of the first two Terminator films would seem to be the equivalent of a Hollywood gold star.
in the film Worthington will play the role of Marcus, a central figure in a three-picture arc that begins after Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust. A group of survivors led by John Connor (Christian Bale) struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.
In Avatar, which hits theaters on December 18, 2009, Worthington plays a paraplegic war veteran from Earth who’s brought to another planet inhabited by a race of humanoids at odds with Earth’s inhabitants.
Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins is also aiming for a 2009 release, a year that may be dubbed the year of Sam Worthington. Of course he will have to contend with Shia and Transformers 2 that year as well.
