Arnold Schwarzenegger Blames Bad PREDATOR Sequels On Greed, But Didn’t Appear In PREDATOR 2 Because He Was Greed

One of Arnold SchwarzeneggerDutch’s most iconic film roles are in the original 1987 sci-fi action film Predator. This is a film franchise that should have been much more successful than it has been. Most of the sequels have been pretty lackluster with more recent movies like Predators AND The predator trying to re-capture the spirit of the original film. Then came the movie Preywho did something completely new and different with the franchise, and it turned out great!

But, before that film came out, Schwarzenegger was frustrated with the sequels the studios were producing and made it clear that he didn’t like any of them. And he believes the reason is due to studio greed.

During a 2015 Q&A after a Terminator Genisys preview screening (via THR) Schwarzenegger said:

“The sad story is that sometimes studios do a great job with making sequels, and sometimes they really screw up, and it all has to do with greed. You know, sometimes they want to do it really cheap and make as much money as possible, so they don’t hire the right cast or not the right director… Those are stupid moves to make.”

Schwarzenegger went on to say that “So far, no ‘Predator’, no matter what they’ve done since the first one came out, has been satisfying to audiences.” Years after Prey was released and many fans welcomed it as the best Predator movie since the original.

Now, at one point the action star was looking into acting predator 2. Schwarzenegger was originally supposed to return to the franchise, but he and the studios never came to an agreement, and that was due to Schwarzenegger’s greed. During a previous interview with Collider, producer John Davis revealed that the deal fell short over $250,000. He explained:

“The sequel to the first rebooted it. We should have had Arnold in the film. The deal broke for over $250,000, which is a shame. But it was moved from the jungle to the city.”

Danny Glover ended up being cast in Predator 2, and you know what? That was actually a decent sequel. I liked it! But it probably would have fared better at the box office if Schwarzenegger returned, as there’s no doubt fans would have wanted to see him back in action after the events of the first film.

Ultimately, the franchise had an interesting journey, one that could have had much better films if better creative decisions had been made over the years. But here we are, and now fans are just waiting for the Prey sequel to arrive.