Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger is reportedly set to play the villain in 'Avatar 2'.

The veteran action star has landed the role of the "bad guy human general" in James Cameron's hugely-awaited fantasy follow-up, Latino-Review.com is claiming.

This would prove a welcome collaboration for the pair, since Cameron gave Schwarzenegger the titular role that made his name in cult classic 'Terminator'. The dynamic duo also worked together on 'Terminator 2' and on 'True Lies'.

The Austrian-born muscleman had hinted at a future reunion earlier this year when he was quizzed about his relationship with the 'Titanic' filmmaker.

He said at the time: "Movie-wise, he's tied up with his next two movies, but hopefully, there's something down the line when he's finished with that. I always look forward to working with him because Cameron is a very talented director."

Cameron - who has brought in screenwriters Josh Friedman, Shane Salerno, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver to help develop the script - recently announced he would be shooting three 'Avatar' sequels back-to-back starting next year, but it is not known whether Schwarzenegger will star in all of them.

The epic eco-warrior adventure will pick up from the end of the first flick, with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) permanently becoming a Na'vi avatar alongside his new love, Princess Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).

Production is scheduled for 2014 with the first movie to be released in December 2016, the second in December 2017 and the third in 2018.