James Cameron gives update on if Arnold Schwarzenegger will return for future “Terminator” movies
- - James Cameron gives update on if Arnold Schwarzenegger will return for future “Terminator” movies
Mekishana PierreDecember 20, 2025 at 3:39 AM
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A. Rapoport/Tri-Star Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'Terminator 2'
Sorry, Terminator film series fans, Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be back this time.
Franchise co-creator James Cameron gave the shocking update during a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that he doesn't plan on having the 78-year-old action star return for the upcoming installment of the long-running series, and is more focused on ushering a new generation of characters.
"I can safely say he won't be [in it]," Cameron told the outlet. "It's time for a new generation of characters. I insisted Arnold had to be involved in Terminator: Dark Fate, and it was a great finish to him playing the T-800. There needs to be a broader interpretation of Terminator and the idea of a time war and super intelligence. I want to do new stuff that people aren't imagining."
Schwarzenegger has appeared in almost every entry in the Terminator franchise, starting with 1984's titular film and ending with 2019’s Dark Fate. While he didn't personally appear in 2009's Terminator Salvation, his likeness was used for a CGI cameo of the T-800.
Orion Pictures Corporation/Courtesy Everett
Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1984's 'The Terminator'
Earlier this year, Schwarzenegger appeared on an episode of Watch What Happens Live in June during which he fielded an audience question about which Terminator movie he thinks is the worst of all time.
"I would say the worst was probably the No. 4, because that was done during the time I was governor [of California] and I was not in it," Schwarzenegger said to host Andy Cohen, referencing 2009's Christian Bale-starring blockbuster Terminator Salvation.
He continued, asking, "How do you do a Terminator movie without me being in the Terminator movie? It doesn't make any sense."
Safe to say he wasn't aware of Cameron's plans for Terminator's Schwarzenegger-less future.
Meanwhile, Cameron told THR that he is excited to start working on the seventh film entry following the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash.
"Once the dust clears on Avatar in a couple of months, I'm going to really plunge into that," Cameron shared. "There are a lot of narrative problems to solve. The biggest is how do I stay enough ahead of what's really happening to make it science fiction?"
TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett
Linda Hamilton, James Cameron, Joe Morton, and Arnold Schwarzenegger on set of 'Terminator 2'
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The acclaimed director noted that he isn't interested in relying on any callbacks to previous entries in the next project.
"The things that scare you the most are exactly the things you should be doing," Cameron declared. "Nobody should be operating artistically from a comfort zone."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
