“They Can Do Whatever They Want”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Rejects Coming Back as He Gives Blessings to One of His OG Character’s Remake

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Hollywood career saw him being part of some of the most pathbreaking films in history. The Austrian Oak featured in scientific thrillers, comedies, and action genres, intriguing the minds of his fans. One of his earliest science thrillers is The Running Man, which narrates the dystopian era of the country in 2019. 

Despite mixed reviews and low box office collections, Ben Richards in a glowing unitard suit in the movie is celebrated as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s OG performance. However, the 76-year-old doesn’t want to be a part of The Running Man sequel.

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t care about his 1987 hit

The Governator’s stint in movies blessed the art of cinema with unique characters and stories. The Running Man was Schwarzenegger’s first try at science fiction, well before blockbusters like Terminator 2 and Junior. The Running Man had some mixed reviews attached to its being. Some people at the time liked it and some didn’t. Some would even say decades later the film has become a cult classic. Television mogul Rich Eisen is one of them. Schwarzenegger’s role as Richards fighting the totalitarian government had a deep impact on Eisen! And to be fair, Arnie seems to love the film as well but then why doesn’t he want to be a part of a potential sequel? 

The American Television host confessed how The Running Man is his favorite movie of Schwarzenegger. Arnie agreed with Eisen and said the 1987 science thriller intrigued many until True Lies and Terminator 2 were released. Schwarzenegger also spilled tea on the impending sequel of the movie. “I’m happy because now I’ve heard that they want to do a remake of Running Man.”

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But Schwarzenegger refused the idea of reprising his role for the sequel. “I would not be playing that same character. But I mean, nor am I interested in being in it,” he said. He further blessed the team by saying, “They can do whatever they want.” And the reason Arnie gives for not wanting to be part of it is because he is not to big on sequels. Yeah, we are all thinking the same thing. He’s done about a million Terminator films already, so why draw the line? 

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s thoughts on sequels

Schwarzenegger is known for acting in franchises like the Conan series and The Terminator films. H.owever, Conan was really early in his career and Terminator defined his career to a point, where he’s synonymous with the word. If the Oxford English dictionary were a picture book, it would have a picture of Arnold saying, ‘Hasta la vista baby‘ next to the word Terminator. Unfortunately, he has never felt the same about any other film. 

Schwarzenegger has often refused hefty paychecks for filming sequels. Arnie refused a whopping 14 million dollars to act in The Predator sequel. 

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The Terminator icon was apprehensive about featuring in sequels and confessed how studios could go haywire while filming sequels. Arnie feels the greed of the production houses could screw the sequels, and the 76-year-old doesn’t want to be a part of such a narrative. Take a look at the Predator movies that followed his OG one for example. Until it was revived with Amber Midthunder at the center of it, the franchise had been considered dead for years, despite repeated attempts to revive it. 

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decisions come with a strong rationale, and his extraordinary career can be credited to his decision-making talent. Of course, at this point in his career and his life, Arnie will never be convinced by just the monetary benefits of signing a big production house sequel. So if you are a fan of The Running Man and want to see Arnie come back, maybe petition to have them write a script that compels the Austrian Oak’s sensbilities!