The Terminator remains one of the most iconic sci-fi movies of the 1980s, even if many of its sequels have not exactly managed to enhance the franchise. However, one person who doubted it would ever have any chance of success is star Linda Hamilton, thanks to her reservations about the James Cameron script and the ability of co-star Arnold Schwarzenegger to do anything other than strike some muscleman poses.
In a new interview from Netflix's documentary Arnold, which takes an in depth look at the life of everyone's favorite Austrian action hero, Hamilton reveals that she really had to be convinced about the potential for The Terminator to work. She said:
"It was truly just another job. I didn't think that it was particularly greater than over scripts that I'd read. I mean, really clueless. It was very low budget and we were all rather new at it. I definitely had my doubts. By our snotty definition, Arnold was a poser. A bodybuilder pretending to be an actor. But because I was curious, I went and stood off the sidelines watching Arnold, and I bought it. The physicality and the stiffness, and all of the things that he was implementing. I was like, 'OK, this might work.'"
Of course, The Terminator proved to not only be a success, but kicked off a franchise that just.well, has been back many times over the last four decades, and just seems to be every bit as relentless as its title character.
Related: Arnold Schwarzenegger Reflects on His Most Famous Catchphrase: 'It Sounded Stupid'
While there is always a "never say never" feel about long-standing actors reprising their roles in an endless number of sequels, Arnold Schwarzenegger appears to have said goodbye to the role that made him one of the biggest action stars in cinema history. In a recent interview, he said:
"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."
It seems that a "well-written" Terminator movie could be in the works, with James Cameron having recently revealed that he has started work on a new script to continue the Terminator saga that would have real-world AI at its heart. While the Avatar director didn't elaborate on that, other than to say that he wanted to see how the current rise in AI technology "shakes out" before continuing with the idea.
Netflix's documentary Arnold is streaming now, while the Terminator movies are streaming across various platforms.