Series creator Tim Miller and Supervising Director Jennifer Yuh revealed that Last Action Hero actor Arnold Schwarzenegger almost made an appearance in Volume 2 of Netflix's sci-fi/horror anthology Love, Death + Robots.
In a stream for Reddit Live, Miller and Yuh fielded questions about the show's development, in addition to explaining how the series changed and evolved after the release of the first season. In particular, they mentioned that Schwarzenegger had repeatedly contacted them, insistent upon making an appearance. "In the Hollywood community, people really like the show. Arnold lobbied me almost every day to get in. He's not in it, that's not another sneak peek," said Miller.
"We considered it," said Yuh. "We were like, 'How could we fit that in?'"
The showrunners also revealed that they outlined an episode featuring Conan the Barbarian, with Schwarzenegger presumably returning to the role. Intended to be an adaptation of Robert E. Howard's novella Red Nails, the episode was eventually scrapped due to copyright issues.
"It would have been a Conan short. I did want to do a Conan short, but we couldn't get permission," Miller said. "[It would have been based on] Red Nails. It involved Valeria, the pirate queen... a lost city, it was f--ked up. There were dinosaurs in it, too. We just couldn't get permission."
Also known for his role in the Terminator franchise, Schwarzenegger first portrayed Conan the Barbarian in the 1982 action film of the same name. Red Nails was first published in 1936 and saw sword-and-sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian exploring a courtesan-filled city caught in the midst of a bloody conflict between two warlords. It was the last Conan the Barbarian story written by Howard before his death in 1936.
Love, Death + Robots was originally created by Miller in 2019. Executive produced by David Fincher, the series won both Emmys and Annies for several of its first-season shorts. Yuh, who previously directed two Kung Fu Panda films, acted as supervising director for the entirety of Volume 2. The anthology series features multiple visual styles including traditional animation and heavy CGI and draws from the horror, drama, comedy and action genres.
All eight episodes of Love Death + Robots Vol. 2 are now streaming on Netflix. Vol. 3, also consisting of eight episodes, will be released in 2022.
Source: Reddit