“THEY WANT ME BACK,” ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER TALKS COMING PREDATOR, CONAN AND COMMANDO PROJECTS. (PHOTO).

 “They Want Me Back,” Arnold Schwarzenegger Talks Coming Predator, Conan and Commando Projects

Arnold Schwarzenegger gave fans a glimpse of what could be a thrilling return to some of his most iconic action roles. 

Speaking at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio over the weekend, the 78-year-old actor discussed ongoing talks about reprising his roles in the Predator series, along with new projects in the Conan the Barbarian and Commando franchises.

Describing it as a potential “resurrection of all those movies,” Schwarzenegger highlighted the Predator films as an example. He praised Dan Trachtenberg, director of 2022’s Prey and last year’s Predator: Badlands, saying the filmmaker has done a remarkable job and now wants him involved in the next installment.

“So we were talking about it,” he told the audience, prompting applause as fans imagined Schwarzenegger returning as Dutch, the character he originated in the 1987 film. 

“Fox Studio has kind of rediscovered Arnold. They come to me and say, ‘We want you to do Predator, we just got the script for Commando 2,’ and they’ve hired a writer-director who worked on Tom Cruise’s last four movies to write and direct King Conan.”

The Hollywood Reporter reported on March 9 that Christopher McQuarrie will helm the Conan sequel, King Conan, which will continue the story from Schwarzenegger’s original 1982 film and its 1984 follow-up. 

Meanwhile, the Commando sequel would revisit his role as a former U.S. special forces soldier returning to action after his friends are targeted by mercenaries.

Back in November, Ben Rosenblatt, producer of Predator: Badlands, told Deadline that he and Trachtenberg have met with Schwarzenegger a few times regarding the franchise. 

“Obviously, the holy grail of Predator movies would be getting Arnold back in there,” Rosenblatt said. “It’s always been in the back of our minds that it would be really great to see him return to a franchise that he’s made iconic and that has made him iconic.”