Arnold Schwarzenegger Teases Returns to ‘Predator,’ ‘Conan the Barbarian,’ and ‘Commando’
Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped a bombshell at the 2026 Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio: he is in active discussions to reprise his roles in Predator, Conan the Barbarian and Commando. All three franchises.
The talent attached to at least one of these projects suggests the studios are taking the prospect seriously.
A fan-uploaded video on YouTube captured the moment Schwarzenegger broke the news to the crowd, which responded with applause.
The news was later confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, among other sources.
Dutch Could Return to the ‘Predator’ Franchise
Director Dan Trachtenberg, who has been helming recent entries in the Predator franchise, wants Schwarzenegger back for the next film. Fox Studios has approached Schwarzenegger directly about returning.
“They did an additional ‘Predator’ and the director has been doing a great job of that. Now, he wants me to be in the next ‘Predator.’ We’ve talked about it,” Schwarzenegger said to the crowd.
Schwarzenegger already made a soft return to the Predator universe in 2025, when his likeness was used for a cameo in Trachtenberg’s animated anthology film Predator: Killer of Killers.
His character, Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, appears in a suspended animation chamber — setting up a potential live-action return. That cameo functioned as a narrative setup, and now there’s a clearer picture of where it was heading.
“As a matter of fact, Fox Studios has kind of rediscovered Arnold. They’ve come to me and said, ‘We want you to do “Predator,” we just got a script for you to do “Commando 2,’” he added.
Fox Studios Already Has a ‘Commando 2’ Script
Yes, there is a script for Commando 2.
The original Commando is a 1985 action film directed by Mark L. Lester and produced by Joel Silver. It follows a retired Special Forces colonel who tries to save his daughter after she is abducted by his former subordinate.
Fox Studios brought Schwarzenegger the Commando 2 script as part of their broader outreach to him.
Details beyond that remain scarce, but the existence of a finished script suggests the project may be further along in development than fans might expect.
‘King Conan’ Has the Biggest Name Attached
Of the three projects, King Conan appears to be the most developed.
A writer/director has been hired, described by Schwarzenegger as the person who directed Tom Cruise’s last four movies — strongly implying Christopher McQuarrie, the filmmaker behind the recent Mission: Impossible franchise.
The story would follow Conan after 40 years as king. He is forced out of his kingdom, sparking conflict, and eventually fights his way back. The film would feature magic, creatures and heavy use of special effects.
“The studio has plenty of money to make those movies really big so I’m looking forward to all of those projects,” Schwarzenegger said at the Expo.
Schwarzenegger emphasized that the roles are being written age-appropriately rather than pretending he’s 40 — but he isn’t stepping back from action.
“They don’t write them like I’m 40 years old. You write it to be age appropriate. I’ll still go in there and kick some a** but it will be different,” he said of his Conan return.
An older, battle-worn Conan reclaiming his throne is a fundamentally different premise from the young barbarian who clawed his way up from nothing in the original films.
Schwarzenegger originally played Conan in Conan the Barbarian (1982) and Conan the Destroyer (1984), his first major action franchise.
A 2011 reboot starring Jason Momoa earned only $63 million worldwide against a reported $90 million budget, according to Variety.
What Filming ‘Conan the Barbarian’ Was Really Like
In his 2023 memoir Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, Schwarzenegger detailed the physically brutal filming of the original Conan the Barbarian, directed by John Milius.
His accounts read less like a production diary and more like a survival story.
“I learned to ride horses and camels and elephants. I learned how to jump from large rocks, how to climb and swing from long ropes, how to fall from a height,” Schwarzenegger wrote in the memoir, per Insider.
“Milius had me doing all kinds of terrible s**t. I crawled through rocks, take after take, until my forearms bled. I ran from wild dogs that managed to catch me and pull me into a thorn bush. I bit a real dead vulture that required I wash my mouth out with alcohol after each take. (PETA would have a field day with that one). On one of the first days of filming, I tore a gash on my back that required 40 stitches,” he added.
Forty stitches. Dead vultures. Wild dogs. Bleeding forearms, take after take.
None of these projects are confirmed as greenlit productions. Schwarzenegger described them as active discussions. But the conversations are real and the talent is serious.
Production of this article included the use of AI. It was reviewed and edited by a team of content specialists
