Arnold Schwarzenegger Has One Condition To Join James Cameron’s Avatar Movies

Now that the first two “Avatar” movies have become some of the biggest films of all time, it seems strange to think that any of us ever doubted director James Cameron. The so-called king of the box office knows how to churn out hits, even when pivoting from live-action to mostly CGI blockbusters that push the frontiers of filmmaking.

Cameron has always been fascinated with technology, of course, ever since his little sci-fi slasher “The Terminator,” with its plot revolving around an AI that becomes self-aware, proved to be a surprise success and launched his career. It was that same film that also launched the career of its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who would go on to front two more Cameron films: 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and 1994’s “True Lies.” It’s now been 30 years since the latter debuted, marking the last time Schwarzenegger and Cameron collaborated on a film — which surely means the duo are poised for a reunion sometime soon.

Unfortunately, Cameron is about as immersed in his “Avatar” saga as he could be. He’s currently working on two new movies in the franchise, with the next installment, titled “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” set for a December 2025 theatrical release. As such, in order for Cameron and Schwarzenegger to reunite, the latter would probably have to work his way into one of these “Avatar” follow-ups. While that might not seem all that likely, it appears old Arnie is at least open to the idea — though he has one condition for his appearance in Cameron’s epic sci-fi saga.

During a Q&A on the Arnold’s Pump Club app, Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked about the “Avatar” movies and whether he had ever discussed appearing in any of the films with James Cameron. In response, Schwarzenegger confirmed that the first two “Avatar” films are some of his favorites of all time, and claimed to have cried during the sequel. He also revealed that he visited the “Avatar” set on multiple occasions to watch Cameron and co do their thing. But when it comes to actually appearing in the saga, it seems he had a strict condition for doing so. “If a role made sense, we’d absolutely do it together,” Schwarzenegger explained. “But we’d never force it in just to work together because that can end up cheesy, and since we are friends we don’t have to work together to hang out.”

It seems that, in order for us to see the Austrian Oak in an “Avatar” movie, then, Cameron would have to find a role that made sense for his old pal — which, frankly, doesn’t seem all that likely to happen. Not only have the “Avatar” films being doing fine without Cameron feeling the need to reconnect with his “Terminator” star, but also the next two movies have had most of their motion-capture footage shot already. What’s more, Arnie is such a recognizable presence that it might take audiences out of the carefully constructed, otherworldly illusion of Pandora.

Still, it’s not as if Arnie needs to work with Cameron in order to reconnect. As the actor explained during the Q&A, “[Cameron is] a tech genius and a film genius. He’s also a great friend. We still go on motorcycle rides together.” Hopefully those rides don’t involve recreating the “Terminator 2” bike sequence — one of the greatest car chases in movie history — by jumping off an overpass into a Los Angeles river waterway in pursuit of John Connor. In reality, it’s probably more like a casual ride around Beverly Hills to fix a few pot holes.