Arnold Schwarzenegger turned down 52 million and a legendary action franchise

That arnold schwarzenegger He is one of the greatest figures in the action cinema it is something indisputable. But that she could have participated in one of the most legendary franchises, being richer and having escaped some criticism is also another factor to take into account. And the fault was Danny DeVito and ‘The Twins Strike Twice’.

In the mid-80s of the 20th century, Arnold Schwarzenegger had already been Conan, Terminator and the man who had killed Predator. The big studios entertained him and wanted to count on him for any project. Hence offered him a check for 52 million dollars for a project for a new action movie.

That proposal tempted the multiple winner of the great Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition, but he opted for another that included more doubts. Universal presented a comedy with Danny DeVito to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who were represented by the same agency as the director, Ivan Reitmann. There were no guarantees that his move to make people laugh would turn out well and the company couldn’t pay him his usual salary, but they convinced the muscular Arnold that would receive 20% of the profits, 35 million for the sales of related products for the film, DVDs and television rights.

Arnold and Danny’s doubts reached the point that the protagonist of ‘Commando‘ He accepted on the last day before the offer deadline and signed his contract on a napkin so he could continue with that commitment. Danny DeVito then confirmed upon learning that he would be the bodybuilder’s brother. “No one will believe that I am Arnold Schwarzenegger’s twin,” he argued.

By the way, if Schwarzenegger had not accepted the protagonist would have been hulk hoganwho was waiting for his opportunity, and the brother would have been Christopher Lloyd.

Arnold Schwarzenegger turned down Die Hard

The accounts did not go wrong for Arnold Schwarzenegger because he pocketed more money in total than with all his cumulative earnings from all the Terminator movies. However, the criticism was not especially good and she also soon realized that she had rejected one of the most remembered action movie roles.

The film that Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected was ‘Die Hard’ and the role of policeman John McLaen. “There was an unfinished script that someone gave me and said, ‘Do you want to do this?’ She was working with Joel Silver on Predator and Die Hard was going to be his next movie. We talked about it but they hired Bruce Willis“The former governor of California has assured about what happened.

However, the witnesses of the negotiations and some project partners assure that the reason Schwarzenegger decided to turn down the offer was because he wanted to take a break as an action hero and switch to comedy. In fact, it’s something he’s tried throughout his career with attempts like ‘Kindergarten Hero’, ‘Junior’ or ‘Dave’, which have been among the worst valued in their history. Instead, ‘Die Die’ has become a classic at the same level as many of its great successes.

In defense of Schwarzenegger, it must be added that he was not the only famous actor who rejected the project. Clint Eastwood, Frank Sinatra, Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Al Pacino, Don Johnson, Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Keaton, Jeff Bridges, Mel Gibson and Robert De Niro they also said no to ‘Die Cristal’.