Arnold Schwarzenegger won’t be back in another Terminator movie as the 75-year-old actor confirms he is done with the franchise.
Speaking to THR, it’s remarked to Arnold that the franchise feels done now, but Arnold disagrees and says the franchise isn’t done but that he is done with Terminator.
“The franchise is not done. I’m done. I got the message loud and clear that the world wants to move on with a different theme when it comes to The Terminator,” said Schwarzenegger. “Someone has to come up with a great idea. The Terminator was largely responsible for my success, so I always would look at it very fondly. The first three movies were great. Number four [Salvation] I was not in because I was governor. Then five [Genisys] and six [Dark Fate] didn’t close the deal as far as I’m concerned. We knew that ahead of time because they were just not well written.”
Arnold also offers an update on the King Conan movie.
Arnold: The ruthless cyborg assassin from the future
While Schwarzenegger’s big acting big break came with the Conan movies, the Austrian Oak also hit fame in 1984 when he was cast as the Terminator, a ruthless cyborg assassin from the future, in James Cameron’s science fiction masterpiece. The film catapulted Schwarzenegger to international fame and established him as an action superstar. His memorable catchphrase, “I’ll be back,” became synonymous with his on-screen persona.
In 1991, Schwarzenegger returned as the reprogrammed and more heroic Terminator in the highly successful sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which made over $520 million at the box office, which equals over $1.1 billion in today’s dollars. The film further solidified his status as a Hollywood heavyweight and broke new ground in terms of visual effects with the liquid metal effects of the T-1000.
As noted above, Schwarzenegger reprised his role as the Terminator in subsequent installments of the franchise. He appeared in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and Terminator Genisys (2015), each time bringing his unique blend of charisma and physicality to the character. Another film, Terminator Salvation (2009), also served as a sequel to Rise of the Machines, but Arnold didn’t appear in the movie (only his digital likeness was used).
His most recent appearance as the Terminator was in Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), which served as a direct sequel to Terminator 2. In the film, Schwarzenegger’s character, now named Carl, adopted a more human-like persona. Terminator: Dark Fate only brought in $261 million.