Christian Bale has signed a three-picture deal and the plot has already been announced. Now though, "The Future Begins" has officially gone into production. "We’ve officially started principal photography on 'Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins,'" director McG said on the films official site. "Like you guys, I’ve been a long-time fan of the series and I understand your passion for the Terminator movies -- and it’s my full intention to deliver a film that lives up to the previous three installments. I’ve spent time with James Cameron, spoken to Arnold Schwarzenegger, gone over the story with Jonah Nolan, and enlisted Stan Winston." The movie has already evaded an R rating and will instead be classed with a much lower rating in the same way "Live Free Or Die Hard" was last summer. However, a lower rating doesn't mean McG will skimp on any of the grittiness of the original trilogy. "Everything we’re shooting is designed to be tactile and real," he added. "You’ll be seeing a whole set of inspired designs you’ve never seen before, and best of all you’ll finally get to see some of the post-judgment day future that was only hinted at in the previous movies." McG has also released some production art of the project to give fans a feel of what to expect from the new trilogy. In this movie, John Connor (Bale) leads an assault against Skynet before it can launch its master plan to wipe out the Human race. “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” is scheduled for release May 22, 2009.