Production is already under way on Paramount and Annapurna Pictures' Terminator reboot, which is the first in a stand-alone trilogy. J.K. Simmons, who joined the cast in April, recently told Empire that he was hesitant to sign on, but he did so because the script surprised him. Here's what he had to say, teasing that he has a bigger role in the forthcoming sequels.

"I was leery of it when it first came my way, when my agent sent me the idea for it. It's a small part, which they insist gets much bigger in the sequels. But I was very pleasantly surprised by the script itself."

Empire also reveals that Matt Smith's role will also be expanded in subsequent sequels. While it isn't known exactly who he is playing, we reported earlier this month that his character has a strong connection to John Connor (Jason Clarke).

J.K. Simmons went onto stress that the filmmakers are calling this project a reimagining, instead of a remake or a reboot.

"This, I think, is a reimagining. They don't want to call it a sequel or a reboot. It's the world that James Cameron created with Arnold [Schwarzenegger]. All the leading characters are characters who have existed in that world - the character I play is new to it. The script, I think, is very smart, and it's going to be a wonderful part for Arnold to do. Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney are already shooting - we did a table read a few weeks ago - and all of them are going to be great."

Our report from April revealed that J.K. Simmons was reportedly playing a detective who has been obsessed with the Terminator case since 1984. There was speculation that the role is actually Hal Vukovich, the character Lance Henriksen played in The Terminator. However, now that the actor has said he is playing a brand new character, it seems we can put that speculation to rest.