The new Terminator movie seems to be building solidly on the foundation of other genre franchises. First they picked up the new Batman, Christian Bale, to play John Connor, the hero of the Terminator movies. Now it appears they’re scarfing up Star Trek’s new Checkov to play Connor’s right hand man (and father), Kyle Reese.

Anton Yelchin, who recently appeared in the title role in Charlie Bartlett, is already making a name for himself as Checkov in J.J. Abrams new Star Trek movie. According to They Hollywood Reporter, the actor has also been tagged to play a teenage version of Michael Biehn’s character from the first Terminator movie, Kyle Reese in the fourth film, which recently lost its extended (and annoying) title.

In the Terminator mythos, Reese is sent back into the past by John Connor to protect Connor’s mother. While Reese does protect her, he also knocks her up, making him the father of his future commanding officer. It’s one of those twisted time tales that’s better if you don’t think about it.

Interestingly, it looks like Yelchin’s Reese will be closer to the characterization of the younger Connor of the previous movies. According to the story, the teenage Reese will befriend an early version of the Terminator robot, played by Sam Worthington. Haven’t we done that storyline before? What will the new version of "Hasta La Vista, baby" be?

What I really want to see is whether the movies buy into the extension of the mythos set up by The Sarah Connor Chronicles. In its first season the show established that Kyle Reese had a brother who eventually was sent back in time. Will there be another casting announcement soon for Derek Reese, or will the movies and the TV show split on how the Terminator franchise is to be played out?