Arnold Schwarzenegger Once Revealed the One ‘Terminator’ Movie He Thought Was ‘Awful’
The Terminator films are movies that Arnold Schwarzenegger is very close to. After all, it’s one of the films that turned Schwarzenegger into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. However, there was one Terminator film that the blockbuster actor revealed he didn’t like at all. And he wouldn’t want to star in another Terminator movie that was written like his least favorite one.
Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t think ‘The Terminator’ would’ve become a franchise
The Terminator franchise may have become one of the biggest sci-fi franchises of all time. But there was a point when Schwarzenegger, and the studio behind the films, didn’t think the franchise would spawn sequels. In an interview with Screen Crush, the Predator actor explained what everyone really thought about James Cameron’s movies.
“Well, what’s amazing about it is that no one thought when we did the movie that this is going to be a franchise,” Schwarzenegger said. “No one thought the line ‘I’ll be back,’ would ever be repeated again. The studio, the way they looked at it was it was a B-action movie.”
It didn’t help that at the time another sci-fi movie with a similar name came out.
“You have to understand that a year or two before we came out there was this stupid movie called The Exterminator,” Schwarzenegger said. “So when I heard I was offered The Terminator, I said to myself “Oh no, this is like The Exterminator, people will look at it that way. Is that where my career is going? B movies and then it goes straight to video, end of story?”
But it was James Cameron who convinced Schwarzenegger that there was something special about The Terminator.
“I just had faith in Jim Cameron because of the way he explained how he wanted to shoot it, it would be creative, it would be different. And I bought into the idea of playing the Terminator, based on what he was telling me,” he continued.
Arnold Schwarzenegger thought ‘Terminator Salvation’ was ‘awful’
Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t have much of a fond opinion on Terminator Salvation. Ironically, he also didn’t appear in the movie. But that was due more to his commitment to his political position at the time. Schwarzenegger was the governor of California while Terminator Salvation was filming, and couldn’t leave his position.
But still, in hindsight, Schwarzenegger might have been glad he wasn’t a part of the film in the first place. Speaking to Collider, Schwarzenegger talked about starring in sequels of his past films. He brought up Christian Bale’s Terminator film as a type of sequel he wouldn’t do.
“[I’m open to] all those things, if it’s True Lies, Terminator, a well-made Terminator…the last one was awful. It tried hard, not that they didn’t try, the acting and everything. It missed the boat,” Schwarzenegger said.
He also expressed relief that he wasn’t a part of Terminator Salvation in an interview with ABC News. Schwarzenegger was reminded that he didn’t appear in the fourth film of the franchise.
“I didn’t, no…thank God,” he revealed.
When asked about his opinion on Salvation, Schwarzenegger didn’t mince words.
“It sucked,” he said.
Does Arnold Schwarzenegger have more ‘Terminator’ movies in him?
2019’s Terminator Dark Fate was the last Terminator movie Schwarzenegger starred in. But as to whether or not it would be his final film completely, the True Lies star is leaving that up to the fans.
“If the audience decides it’s time to move on, and to have a new Terminator, then they’re gonna go in another direction. If the audience decides they like to see me, and they think it’s cool for me to be in this franchise, to continue being in it, then I will be written in,” he said.
