Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks His Future Projects

The actor, bodybuilder and politician reveals that the 'Conan' franchise is in limbo and that he feels 'The Terminator' movies will continue –– without him.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Luke Brunner in 'Fubar.'

Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a man to mince words. If he wants to say something, he’ll say it. In his career, he’s been a successful bodybuilder, an action legend (even if he’s not necessarily known for Oscar-caliber acting) and a politician.

These days, he’s also known as an online activist, looking to spread positivity and workout tips on social media and beyond. He also hasn’t completely given up on acting, with new Netflix series ‘FUBAR’ due to start streaming on May 25th.

In the course of promoting that show, Schwarzenegger has opened up for a wide-ranging interview in The Hollywood Reporter, touching on his successes and failures, both personally and professionally.

The interview includes the former governor of California talking up the progress of future movie projects, including two of his most famous franchises, the ‘Terminator’ and ‘Conan’, plus offering a disappointing update on the ‘Twins’ sequel, ‘Triplets’.

Conan the Barbarian

"Thief. Warrior. Gladiator. King."

R2 hr 9 minMay 14th, 1982

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch Conan the Barbarian Online

'The Legend of Conan’

The ‘Conan’ movie series, originally adapted by John Milius from Robert E. Howard’s fantasy warrior, has been in limbo –– at least in terms of projects featuring Arnie –– despite reboots with other actors such as Jason Momoa. And Schwarzenegger knows why.

Here’s what he says of the “pending”, sequel ‘The Legend of Conan’:

“It’s been pending for the last 10 years. (Fredrik) Malmberg owns the rights. He comes to me and says, ‘Oh, I have a deal with Netflix,’ and when we ask Netflix, they don’t know anything about it. It’s one of those crazy things. I hope he figures it out. I think you do it like ‘Unforgiven’, where you play the age. There’s a great script out there that John Milius wrote, and others have written one. The story is there. There are directors who want to do it. But he has the rights, and until he sells the rights for one or two movies, or for the franchise, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day.'

'The Terminator' Franchise

When it came to one of his most famous franchises –– the one he’s long acknowledged truly launched him as an action icon –– he’s even more forthright. Essentially, the ‘Terminator’ movies are going to move on without him.

Here’s what Schwarzenegger had to say:

“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’. 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."

'Twins' sequel 'Triplets'

And finally, there’s ‘Triplets’, the sequel to the 1988 Ivan Reitman comedy ‘Twins’ which saw Schwarzenegger playing unlikely brothers with Danny DeVito. The new movie had finally been gathering pace in recent years, with first Eddie Murphy and then Tracy Morgan agreeing to play the third unexpected sibling. But according to the actor, it’s on permanent hold following Reitman’s death, mostly because of the director’s son Jason, a filmmaker in his own right. And Arnie’s not pleased.

Here’s his comment:

“Jason Reitman f****d it up! Jason Reitman literally stopped the project when his father died. His father wanted to do it really badly. I wanted to do it really badly. Danny DeVito wanted to do it really badly. We had the financing. When his father passed away, Jason says, ‘I never liked the idea’ and put a hold on it. I’m developing another movie with Danny; he’s so much fun to work with and so talented.”

For more from Schwarzenegger, head to The Hollywood Reporter’s site.