'Terminator' clip unveiled at Comic-Con

SAN DIEGO -- "Terminator Salvation" won't hit theaters until next summer, but thousands of fans got an early look at a portion of the film Saturday.

Director McG presented never-before-seen footage during a Comic-Con panel and offered a few hints about what to expect from the highly anticipated fourth installment in the "Terminator" franchise.

For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger could be back.

"The T-800 model indeed is part of the mythology of Terminator," McG said coyly, referring to the machine model California's governor played in the first three films.

James Cameron, who directed the first two "Terminator" films, and special-effects master Stan Winston, who died in June, also each had a hand in the film, McG said.

Set in 2018, the film is dark and apocalyptic, "exploring what the world is like after a nuclear holocaust," the director said. "We wanted everything to feel like giant Soviet tanks crushing all comers."