justin lin is just too damn busy to do terminator

I'm not trying to turn this space into Justin Lin Career Watch, but frankly, no Asian American director has been able to make the kind of high-profile moves he's making in Hollywood. The latest development: he's too busy to do that Terminator reboot they've been trying to get off the ground.

According to Deadline, the Terminator producers are itching to get the ball rolling on production by the end of 2012. But if they want Justin at the helm, they'll have to wait until after he finishes the sixth Fast and Furious movie: 'Fast' Schedule Forces Justin Lin To Exit 'Terminator', But He Might Be Back.

Things are starting to move on The Terminator franchise, but a plan by rights owner Megan Ellison and Arnold Schwarzenegger to put the first of two pictures in production for the fourth quarter of 2012 has forced director Justin Lin to drop out. But borrowing the film's signature phrase "I'll be back," Lin has left the door open to a return if Ellison and Schwarzenegger will wait until he completes the sixth installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise.

The Terminator franchise has been under the radar since Ellison's Annapurna Films spent over $20 million to buy film rights during the Cannes Film Festival, with Lin and Schwarzenegger attached. Lin wants to make the film but simply won't be available, the same situation that prompted him to withdraw from Summit's Highlander. Lin has been working closely with Schwarzenegger and Ellison to figure a way to end the James Cameron-hatched battle between humans and the cyborgs of Skynet. It would require some effort for Ellison to get the film underway by late next year. She hasn't got a script and I don't think she's even hired a screenwriter yet. She also hasn't set a studio partner, even though several are interested.

Who would have thought we'd see the day when a Fast and Furious sequel would have priority over a Terminator movie? And the director of Better Luck Tomorrow would be in a position to pick and choose between multi-million dollar franchises? That rocks. More here: Is "Fast/Furious" More Valuable than "Terminator" Now?