‘I need more muscles’: Arnold Schwarzenegger scares another colossus in this action masterpiece

There is no doubt that John McTiernan’s original 1987 Predator is one of the most iconic sci-fi films. But did you know that during filming, the two stars of the movie had a little competition, trying to outdo each other in their training methods?

In addition to Arnold Schwarzenegger, several other muscular actors such as Jesse Ventura and Sonny Landham were also there, and Carl Weathers felt intimidated by the omnipresence of biceps of steel around him. 37 years ago he and Arnold Schwarzenegger That’s why he got involved in an extreme training duel. It’s on the set the show tonight Johnny CarsonIn 1988, the late actor shared this anecdote.

“In a way, I’m not really as physical as a lot of people think, but when you’re around these guys, you can’t do anything else. So we go there, we do a show, we do Predator, and we go into the jungles of Mexico. Arnold is carrying about 800,000 pounds of weight. So I’m there, and I’m with Mr. Universe, Mr. Galaxy, Mr. Everything, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I’m like, “This guy has the biggest arms in the world, I need more muscle, I need it. A little bulk.“

Let the competition begin

In an attempt to compete with Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers So he decided to train harder and, above all, earlier than his opponent.

“Arnold goes to the gym every day at 4:30 a.m. to work out before he goes to shoot in the morning because we get up at 6 a.m. to go out and train. So I decided to get up a little earlier and go there at 4 am. Well, I found out later that Arnold starts leaving at 3:30 in the morning. I say to myself: “This is madness, it cannot go on like this. Well, I won’t wake up early, but when I get back in the evening, I’ll come down and go for a walk on the hill. One day I’m running up a hill and Arnold is running because he gets home later than me. The next day, Arnold runs up the hill. Here we are, these two guys are supposed to be actors, right? It’s a competition. Finally I said, “Let’s declare a truce with Arnold.”“

obviously Arnold Schwarzenegger also redoubled his efforts to avoid As for the truce, we don’t know if it really happened. Although the dedication of the stars was clearly visible on the screen, where muscles were everywhere – and of course it was necessary to survive the fearsome predator who could play another star with big muscles.

Van Damme as the Predator?

Another colossus of the era was almost also in a cult film. Indeed, in the mid-’80s, Jean-Claude Van Damme was hired to play the Predator himself. But when he realized that we would never see his face in the film, things took a turn for the worse and the actor was fired!

Schwarz is almost back in the franchise

If Arnold Schwarzenegger Having repeatedly expressed interest in returning to the franchise, the question came up for The Predator, which was released in 2018 and was directed by Shane Black, who played Hawkins in the 1987 film.

But, in the end, he was offered a small role Shane Black It wasn’t enough: We were talking more about the looks then than the actual substantial role, which was very little for the actor, as he explained in a 2017 interview with Yahoo.

• ‘I didn’t like it, so I won’t’: Find out why Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t return for the Predator saga

What is the future of the franchise?

After years of movies with mixed reviews, the franchise finally regained its steam with Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator in 2022, which everyone agreed should have a sequel. Meanwhile, fans are already rejoicing because of Badlands, a new independent film Dan Trachtenbergwhich will reveal a completely new story in the future, is already in production.

Badlands and potential Predator 2 However, this won’t be the only Predator project in the works. Unexpected success Predator After the revival of the saga, the studio will accordingly plan a number of projects Dan Trachtenberg. To be continued.

Looking forward to learning more, Predator (1987) and other films in the saga are available to stream on Disney+.

Also watch Carl Weathers’ interview in full on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show below: