Common Joins Cast Of New ''Terminator'' Flick

Chi-town rapper Common will hit the big screen in the next release from the Terminator franchise, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.

In this newest installment of the Terminator saga the futuristic tale pits humans in a war against machines, according to Variety. Christian Bale will play lead character John Connor, who leads humans in combat against the bots, while Common is set to star as Connor's right hand man.

The movie marks another notch on Com's acting belt, after starring in American Gangster and Street Kings. The rapper also has a part in the action flick Wanted debuting on June 27.

On the music side, Common's trying out a different electro sound on his latest album Invincible Summer and for the first time in three years he's bypassed mega-producer Kanye West.

Do to scheduling conflicts, Ye didn't do one beat for the new album. Common opted to work with The Neptunes and OutKast producer Mr. DJ instead.

In related news, Common is also using his voice to encourage people to vote in the upcoming presidential election. He has recently spoken out about the controversy surrounding Sen. Barack Obama's pastor, Jeremiah Wright, who claimed the AIDS virus was concocted by the American government. Common, also a member of Wright's church, told Entertainment Weekly, he's had enough of the distraction and the negative imaging of his pastor by news outlets.

"Obviously the media has an agenda," Common told EW. "I don't follow what the media says. I'm a thinker for myself. I encourage people to be objective. When you're watching use your inner eye and really try and watch a person to see what you think about them because you can never really capture a person in a media blitz."

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins will hit theaters May 22, 2009 while Invincible Summer is set for summer '08 release.