Cheng Wu (left), vice-president of Tencent and CEO of Tencent Pictures, and Zheng Xiaolong, son of the late novelist Gu Long, at a Beijing event on Monday. [Photo provided to China Daily]

With the return of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the new Terminator movie will be one of the most anticipated sci-fi films for Chinese fans in 2019. But this time, T-800 also has a Chinese cash-rich investor.

Tencent Pictures, the film and television arm of the Shenzhen-based internet behemoth Tencent Holdings Ltd, has unveiled plans to co-finance the upcoming Terminator film with American production company Skydance Media.

As the global partner of Skydance, Tencent Pictures will handle the distribution, marketing and merchandising of the film directed by Tim Miller in China.

The new movie, or the sixth in Terminator history, will be a sequel to Cameron's 1991 movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day starring Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, both reprising their roles as The Terminator and Sarah Connor from the first two installments.

The new story will introduce the next generation of characters played by Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Diego Boneta, and Gabriel Luna, according to the two companies.

Speaking about the project, Jesse Sisgold, the president and COO of Skydance Media, says: "We are thrilled that Terminator will be our first collaboration with Tencent, and we believe that partnering this early in the process, prior to production, will allow both companies to fully maximize the opportunity."

Meanwhile, Tencent Pictures has also taken up work on a series of upcoming domestic titles, such as director Lu Chuan's 20,000 Miles, critic-turned director Zhang Xiaobei's debut Pathfinder and Teng Huatao's Shanghai Fortress starring Shu Qi and Lu Han.