Five Actors To Test for Kyle Reese in 'Terminator: Genesis' on Monday

With filming set to begin in the next few months - and the roles of Sarah and John Connor having been cast with Emilia Clarke and Jason Clarke (no relation), respectively - the last major role to fill in the new Terminator reboot, Terminator: Genesis (a strong feeling that title will change to something less generic), is that of Kyle Reese.

Michael Biehn famously played the role back in 1984's original The Terminator as well as Anton Yelchin playing the younger version in 2009's poorly received Terminator Salvation.

The five actors who will read for the part this coming Monday are all relatively unknowns except for one:

• Wilson Bethel (TV's Heart of Dixie)
• Boyd Holbrook (TV's Hatfields & McCoys, The Host)
• Tom Cocquerel (hardly any notable filmmography)
• Jai Courtney (A Good Day to Die Hard, Jack Reacher)
• Sam Reid (Also TV's Hatfields & McCoys)

Obviously Jai Courtney is the most well-known of the group having done some notable films the past couple years but I can't really say he fits the look of Kyle Reese that Michael Biehn presented so well in the original film.

It should also be noted that the filmmakers behind the project reached out to both Garret Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) and Nicholas Hoult (Jack the Giant Slayer), but both actors refused to read.  No, that doesn't mean the script sucks (how could they know if they didn't bother to read it).  They probably just didn't want to be bothered with taking on a franchise role (it's not like Terminator is the crown jewel it use to be). 

It's probably a stretch to guess who will actually get the part, but if I had to go off a hunch, I'd say Wilson Bethel (he looks like the spitting image of a young Michael Biehn).

We'll keep you posted on who snags the role.

Terminator: Genesis is set to open July 1st, 2015.

Source:  Variety