Jason Clarke in talks for John Connor role in Terminator 5

The Terminator movie franchise is set for a reboot in 2015 with Alan Taylor, who has directed Thor: The Dark World and episodes of HBO's Game of Thrones, at the helm of what is being called Terminator: Genesis. Casting news has circulated for several weeks now, and the name of Jason Clarke has come up for the pivotal role of John Connor in the film.

Deadline reports that Clarke "is in early talks" to play John Connor, the leader of the human resistance against the artificial intelligence called Skynet that is systematically wiping out the human race in a dystopian future. The actor has starred in Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby and White House Down.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is reportedly expected to reprise his role as the titular Terminator in the film, which will feature time travel. Emilia Clarke, best known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones, has also reportedly become the frontrunner to play Sarah Connor, John's mother.

Interestingly, Screen Rant reports the rumor that the Terminator movie reboot could change a crucial plot point from James Cameron's original 1984 classic. Rumor has it that Taylor's new film will have Schwarzenegger's killer cyborg actually serve as young Sarah Connor's protector. In the original movie, he tries to kill her to prevent John Connor from being born.

Previous reports indicated that Taylor wanted Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception) to play John Connor in the reboot.

The new Terminator movie is scheduled for release on July 1, 2015.