There had been rumors for several weeks that Arnold Schwarzeneger was dipping his toe back in the acting pool, after pulling it out when the scandal over his out-of-wedlock son broke in May.

The director Schwarzenegger was said to be meeting was Kim-ji-Woon, helmer of the western "The Last Stand," to which the former governor had been attached before the love-child scandal hit. On Monday his representative confirmed that a deal was completed just a few days ago and that Schwarzenegger would indeed make his return to acting with Kim's film. It will be Schwarzenegger's first significant part since "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" in 2003.

The South Korean director of well-regarded foreign-language films such as revenge-thriller "I Saw the Devil" is making his English-language debut with "Last Stand." The movie, which aims to shoot this year, tells of a standoff between the leader of a drug cartel and an aging border-town sheriff (Schwarzenegger) who must decide how much he wants to risk his life to protect his town from the criminal. Like another movie Schwarzenegger had been pondering, "Cry Macho," the story contains significant comeback overtones, which seem even more resonant -- or eerie -- after the actor's latest hiatus.