It only made sense for director McG to want Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Terminator Salvation." After all, he's the actor who created the iconic role of the T-800 cyborg (and delivered the classic line, "I'll be back") in director James Cameron's 1984 original and its first two sequels.

But when you can't get Schwarzenegger for real because of his duties as governor of California, you simply do what Skynet would do -- create him artificially. And for McG, to digitally re-create Schwarzenegger to play a character who played a fake human in the first place, "Salvation" presented the ultimate irony.

"I find it to be particularly fitting with the Skynet idea and the expression of the character to begin with," said the director, whose real name is Joseph McGinty Nichol, in an @ The Movies interview Friday. "You have someone who looks human who is ultimately not, and we've taken it to the next level with the help of Industrial Light and Magic."

Set in 2018, "Terminator Salvation" finds John Connor (Christian Bale) facing his destined future as the leader of the human Resistance. Wearily battling Terminators for 14 years after the artificially intelligent network Skynet became self-aware and nearly annihilated humanity, John's only hope of defeating the enemy lies in Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a cybernetic-human hybrid -- that is, if he can be trusted.

The digital likeness of Schwarzenegger turns up in a pivotal scene in the final act of "Salvation." And thanks to the digital wizards at ILM, McG was able to get Schwarzenegger to appear as we first met him: bulked up and in the buff.

"With all due respect to the governor, I wanted the T-800 from the 1984 picture. And while he's still a fit man, 25 years is 25 years," McG said, laughing. "We had to use the handiwork of ILM and take a lot of scans of what he looked like back in 1984 to make a photorealistic character. He's been a great partner, and we've been in touch all the way from pre-production through principal photography and most of all, through post."

In preparation of the scene, McG felt that it was his responsibility to push the limits of visual effects because it was a "Terminator" movie. After all, this is the same franchise that broke the visual effects mold with "Terminator 2: Judgment Day."

"Look what happened with the liquid metal effects and Robert Patrick character in 'T2.' You really have to take the responsibility seriously," McG said. "So we took, effectively, a zelig by the way of 'Forrest Gump' and the 'Benjamin Button' idea and tried to answer the call with what we've done with Gov. Schwarzenegger in this picture."

Chronicling Sarah Connor

While the Schwarzenegger redux makes a splash in "Salvation," the idea of incorporating Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor character in the movie was not lost on McG. Not only is her voice heard on recordings that guide her son John; Sarah's spirit is manifested in the characters of John's wife, Kate Connor (Bryce Dallas Howard), and Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood), a Resistance fighter pilot.

"I like Moon because she embodies that physicality that Sarah Connor had doing chin-ups in the psychiatric hospital (in 'T2'). She can really kick some a--," McG said. "Bryce, I like, because she's so regal. She has this first lady quality that seems to speak to the fact that she could lead a resistance even in the absence of her husband. That's why I cast her."

Effectively, the incorporation of Sarah Connor's voice and spirit keeps in tradition with Cameron's film sensibilities.

"Jim Cameron has always believed in strong female characters. Maybe Ripley from 'Aliens' -- which Jim had to do with -- could be considered a stronger female character than Sarah," McG observed. "Otherwise, Sarah is arguably the strongest female protagonist in the history of film. She makes the first move on Reese (who fathers John in the first 'Terminator') in a sexual capacity. She's a complete emancipated woman."

The release of "Terminator Salvation" comes as Cameron prepares for the year-end release of "Avatar," a sci-fi adventure thriller that marks his first gig as the director of a feature film since "Titanic" made history in 1997. Cameron was already working on "Avatar" when McG came to him for a word of encouragement.

"Before I signed onto the project I said, 'I'd really like your blessing to make this picture, Jim,' and he said, 'Absolutely not. I don't know if it's going to be good or bad, and I haven't read the script, and I reserve the right to like it or not like it like every other film fan,'" McG recalled. "So I sat back and said, "Well, I reserve the right to not to like 'Avatar.'"

McG added, however, that the meeting wasn't as awkward as Cameron's initial response made it out to be.

Said McG: "We both giggled and shook hands, and he threw his arm around me and said, 'Hey, I know how you feel. People were wondering who the hell is this Jim Cameron guy and how can he possibly fill the shoes of Ridley Scott and make another Alien picture?' I think it's fair to say we're all happy that he made that second Alien movie."