Terminator 2 is one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most famous and best films. But the actor didn’t like one important change compared to the first part.
Terminator 2 is considered one of the best sequels of all time. The film has a critic average of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, and users also rate it 95%.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was once again seen in the title role, but director James Cameron thought of a special twist for the second part of his action series. When Schwarzenegger found out about it, he wasn’t at all enthusiastic at first, similar to an iconic sentence from Part 1.
Do you want to know more about the actor? On MeinMMO you will find 7 exciting facts about Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Trailer for the sci-fi classic “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” with Arnold Schwarzenegger
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The Terminator is supposed to be a hero?
What twist is it? In Terminator 1, Arni clearly played the villain – a cyborg who travels from the future to the present to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) before she gives birth to her son. Sarah is the mother of John Connor, who will save humanity as an adult.
In Terminator 2, James Cameron wanted to surprise the audience and changed the direction of the protagonist. Schwarzenegger’s character should no longer be the murderous fighting machine, but rather become the hero of the story.
The T-800, as his cyborg model is called, makes it his mission to protect Sarah and her child John. Among other things, in front of the T-1000, another Terminator version.
James Cameron told Empire that his friend and leading actor Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t like this significant change from its predecessor.
Arnold hated the idea. I had the script, still warm from the printer, in my briefcase and made it to the plane [Studio] Carolco flew a whole host of actors and directors to Cannes. Arnold reads it on the plane and we have breakfast in Cannes the next morning. He had that look. “Look, Jim, I read it, it’s very well written, but I’m not killing anyone.”
James Cameron via Empire
While the character acted ruthlessly in Part 1, Schwarzenegger was bothered by the apparent change of heart. The actor also questioned whether his character has really become one of the good guys or whether he is just pretending. Cameron then replied that this question can only be clarified when they work together on the film.
Did the idea work? In the end, Terminator 2 became a more than successful sequel and continues to delight action fans to this day. The fact that Schwarzenegger went from being an antagonist to being a hero didn’t hurt the success of the film. The series received four more films, a TV series and a web series. You can read about whether Schwarzenegger himself will return as a Terminator in the future on MeinMMO.