Get your first look at the mind-bending new Terminator reboot

The Terminator franchise is one of the most lucrative and beloved in recent Hollywood history — but a string of mediocre sequels and spin-offs have dragged its commercial prospects into the gutter. Paramount is angling to revive the franchise with next year's Terminator: Genisys, the first installment of an all-new Terminator trilogy, with Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to play the aging cyborg once again.

Until now, much of Terminator: Genisys has been shrouded in secrecy — but a new Entertainment Weekly cover story blows the film wide open. It starts with a look at the new cast, which includes Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke and Doctor Who's Matt Smith:

A story breakdown in Entertainment Weekly reveals that Emilia Clarke will star as Sarah Connor, the woman played by Linda Hamilton in the original Terminator. In this new version of the story, Sarah was orphaned by a Terminator at age 9, and raised and protected by a different Terminator ever since (Arnold Schwarzenegger, reprising the benevolent role he played in Terminator 2: Judgment Day). Sarah is fated to give birth to John Connor (Jason Clarke), the leader of the human resistance in 2029. But when John sends his loyal soldier Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time to protect his mother, he finds that "the other side is nothing like he expected."

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Head spinning yet? Terminator: Genisys is a tricky project, using a time-traveling narrative to serve as both sequel and reboot (and relying heavily on Schwarzenegger, whose return to acting after serving as California's governor has been muddled at best). We'll see if the cast and crew can pull off the project when it premieres next year.