Arnold Schwarzenegger To Play A Villain For James Cameron
Arnold Schwarzenegger might be, once again, teaming up with James Cameron to play a villain role. It could be where it all started
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Arnold Schwarzenegger, for all his heroics and catchphrases, might just be going back to where a lot of it started: as a villain. It’s easy to forget now, after all these years for the actor, that one of his big breaks on-screen was playing an indestructible bad guy. And now he might be heading back to that evil and ominous role. According to insider Daniel Richtman, there’s a good chance Schwarzenegger is coming back to the Terminator franchise as the bad guy once again.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has been in and around the Terminator franchise for the long haul though the returns have definitely diminished over the years. He, or at least his likeness, has appeared in some shape or form for nearly every movie so far. Most recently, he was one of the focal points for Dark Fate when we meet an older version of the titular character. In that film, his path has taken a decidedly different turn than what we’ve seen in the past. In some ways, it felt like a swan song for the actor in the franchise and if that had been his last role I think we could have all felt okay about it.
But for all of his appearances in the Terminator franchise, Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn’t really gone back to the dominant and intimidating force of evil we saw in the original movie. Once he became a massive action star, it was much more fun to see him as the savior, rescuing John and Sarah Connor (and others) from the fate of the future. Rather than riding off into the sunset as a hero, would it be more fun to see him go out as the antagonist one more time?
This latest rumor about Arnold Schwarzenegger comes on the heels of some word that James Cameron could be returning to the Terminator franchise to potentially right some wrongs of the recent past with the stories and timelines. Though there have been now six movies altogether, plus a television show, all have failed to capture the sheer gravity of the first two, Cameron-led films. Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day remain easily the two best films the franchise has to offer and everything suffered a massive dropoff when Cameron stopped his involvement for the third movie. There have been some valiant efforts, but none have really been up to the task.
Returning Arnold Schwarzenegger where he started and maybe finally bringing the story full circle could be the way to round out the franchise and put a bow on it once and for all. It’s hard to imagine these stories, with increasingly alternate timelines, being told into the infinite future. Things may have finally run their course.
Before we possibly see Arnold Schwarzenegger return to the leather jacket and vintage shades of the original Terminator he’s got some other roles to reboot before that. First, he’ll team back up with Danny Devito to found out there’s actually a third sibling in Triplets, a sequel to Twins. And it’s also been announced that Legends of Conan will return him to that Barbarian role. So Arnie is doing a farewell tour on some of these famous characters. Why not give Terminator one last run as well.
