Things have been heating up for the fifth installment of the Terminator franchise lately, with Paramount recently entering talks to distribute the Annapurna Pictures/Skydance film and Arnold Schwarzenegger confirming that he’ll be returning with shooting set to begin in January.  Now a pretty wild rumor is circulating that Dwayne Johnson—the go-to guy when your franchise needs a boost—is being eyed to star in the film alongside Schwarzenegger.  Hit the jump for more, including a possible 1940s setting (what?) for the sequel.

The source of this rumor comes courtesy of the WWE Examiner (via AICN), which reports that one version of the script for Terminator 5 is being developed specifically for Johnson.  Moreover, the Examiner’s source adds that one rumored plot for T5 would make the film a prequel:

Incredibly, Schwarzenegger may not play the role of a machine in the next film, but a potentially heroic human figure in or close to the Connor family. One theory is that Schwarzenegger's remarkable ability to protect the Connor family in the 1940s or 1950s with antiquated weaponry by today's standards ultimately inspired the machines to develop a terminator in his likeness that was eventually sent to 1984 when Sarah Connor was first targeted for termination.

This is all to be taken with a grain of salt for now, especially the period setting business, but I have to say the prospect of Johnson and Schwarzenegger going head to head in a Terminator movie is pretty damn exciting.  Johnson is currently filming Hercules with director Brett Ratner and may or may not be shooting Fast & Furious 7 later this year, and he also has a third G.I. Joe film in the pipeline.