It is hard to think of a more definitive pop culture icon of 80s action movies than Arnold Schwarzenegger, with 1987’s Predator among the podium finishers for his best movies of the decade. So, when the sequel to his alien-themed, jungle mercenary adventure entered pre-production, why wasn't Schwarzenegger brought back?
The initial production plans intended to have Schwarzenegger’s character, “Dutch,” back in action. Unfortunately, a few factors came into play and it ended not coming to pass. Schwarzenegger ultimately didn't return for the sequel, but instead decided to do the 1988 comedy, Twins, with Danny DeVito.
The studio ultimately with Danny Glover in the urban city setting of Los Angeles for the sequel, but originally, they had planned to bring Schwarzenegger back. Unfortunately, there were a number of factors that prevented that from happening.
One of the film’s producers, John Davis, claims Schwarzenegger’s deal came apart over a financial disagreement. Davis says the Austrian icon did not sign to act in Predator 2 because of a fairly small amount of money; “We should've had Arnold in the movie. The deal broke down over $250,000, which is a shame.”
It is worth noting the original snared $120 million at the box office in the mid-eighties. Expectations for more financial success were well within reason. It seems odd then that a quarter-million bucks was enough to keep the deal from getting done. As it turned out, Predator 2, made exactly half of its predecessor – a dip of $60 million. Had Schwarzenegger come back for the sequel, perhaps the film would have faired better.
The Governator himself doesn’t blame his money issues or competing blockbusters -- he says it comes down to the simple art of making good movies and good choices; "The sad story is that sometimes studios do a great job with creating sequels, and sometimes they really screw it up bad, and it all has to do with greed.” He adds that the singular desire to make as much money as possible can lead to bad creative decisions that hurts the final product, “So they don't hire the right cast or the right director.”
It is worth noting, without the films original director back for round 2, the amazing talents of John McTiernan were sorely missed. McTiernan went on to make other legendary films like Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October. The Predator series continued on as well, but Schwarzenegger never returned.
At the time, Schwarzenegger wasn’t known as someone who picked scripts for their dramatic prose or intense, protracted dialogue scenes. With films like Raw Deal to The Running Man there aren’t many monologues to pick from. This may have been one of the early warning signs Schwarzenegger spotted with this sequel.
A big problem with Predator 2 was that the suspense of the original was gone. After the film establishes that another alien is back to play hunter in an urban environment, what more do we need to know or learn? If you substituted the Predator for any kind of generic monster or homicidal maniac – the film still mostly works. The Predator added color, but not much depth to the picture. With that in mind, it can be easy to see why Schwarzenegger felt this movie just didn't make the grade, and opted to move on to other projects.