It was reported earlier this week that casting was underway for the final leading role in Terminator: Genesis. At the time, John Boyega was said to be the leading choice to play the son of Miles Dyson, the Cyberdyne engineer largely responsible for the birth of Skynet, although it was noted that the Attack the Block star was also up for a role in J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode VII and could not appear in both projects. Today, Variety reveals that The Hunger Games and The Spectacular Now star Dayo Okeniyi has taken the part.
Joe Morton played the elder Dyson in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, with the character later appearing, played by Phil Morris, on the television series “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”
Okeniyi was also said to be in the running for Star Wars: Episode VII. While today’s casting news is hardly confirmation, it’s looking more likely than even that Boyega will heading to a galaxy far, far away.
The first in a stand-alone trilogy, the new Terminator will also star Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney and J.K. Simmons. David Ellison will produce with Laeta Kalorgridis (Avatar, Shutter Island) and Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry) attached to write the screenplay. Thor: The Dark World‘s Alan Taylor is directing, targeting a July 1, 2015 release.
