Arnold Schwarzenegger was also chosen for Predator 2

When ‘Predator‘ hit movie screens around the world and became an instant classic. Its mixture of action and horror cinema with a dash of science fiction joined the charisma of a cast led by Arnold Schwarzenegger. His legacy has been so deep that several decades later there are new installments and his followers increase, but many of them wondered why. ‘Dutch’ did not return in the second film. To the surprise of many, the actor opted for ‘Nursery Cop’ instead of a new battle with the intergalactic prey hunter with unclear explanations.

In his time, a couple of explanations and some theory were given to fit the absence of ‘Dutch’ when the predator landed in Los Angeles. One explanation was that Arnold Schwarzenegger had turned down the role because he appeared as a villain in the film (in theory, the role later assumed by Peter Keyes). Others held that the director had not wanted to delay the shooting to wait for the star to finish the ‘Nursery Cop’. Others just slipped that The ‘Conan’ Actor Wanted The Script To Be Completely Rewritten at your whim.

The answer to the mystery of the second installment has come from the lips of John Davis, producer of the seven films related to ‘Predator’ and friend of Schwarzenegger. “It was a really wonderful script. Arnold was going to be the main character. The studio was negotiating with him and the entire deal fell apart for $229,000. It was obvious, Joe Roth, who was the head of the studio at the time, simply said, ‘I’m not going past this number,’ and Arnold wanted another number.” explained in Variety in an interview on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the first film.

That is to say, that the money deprived the spectators of a new installment of ‘Predator’ with Schwarzenegger. So other actors such as Steven Seagal or Patrick Swayze were valued, but finally Danni Glover held the film practically alone. Nevertheless, arnold returned to the franchise on other screens in 2022, since he voiced his iconic character again in the video game ‘Predator: Hunting Grounds’.