Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron go way back, with these two having met when the latter selected the former to play the villainous T-800 in 1984’s The Terminator. The actor and filmmaker then reunited for 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day and 1994’s True Lies, and the two also collaborated on 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, which Cameron produced. These days, though, Cameron is focusing his directorial energies on the Avatar franchise, and Schwarzenegger is among the many fans of the Pandora-based mythology. That said, he’s also explained why he hasn’t signed on to work with Cameron in this world yet.
In the Q&A portion of the latest edition of his newsletter Arnold’s Pump Club, Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed a fan’s inquiry about if he and James Cameron have ever talked about appearing in any of the upcoming Avatar movies, even if it’s just in a small role. The actor, bodybuilder and former governor of California started off by saying:
The Avatar movies are two of my favorite films of all time. I cried during the second one. I love Jim. Daniel, Dieter and I visited his Avatar set a few times, and it is unbelievable watching him work. He’s a tech genius and a film genius. He’s also a great friend. We still go on motorcycle rides together.
Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t clarify he stopped by just the set of the first Avatar movie back when it was filming in 2007, or he’s peeked his head in during the filming of the released Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar 3 or even some of Avatar 4. Whatever the case, Arnold Schwarzenegger greatly enjoyed watched what James Cameron delivered with those first two movies and even shed some tears while watching The Way of Water. Schwarzenegger also let people know who weren’t already aware that he and Cameron have remained close in real life, though again, it’s now been 30 years since the last movie Cameron directed Schwarzenegger in came out.
While it would be easy enough for Cameron to loop Schwarzenegger into the Avatar world, the latter explained that since they don’t need a professional reason to hang out anymore, they don’t want to force Schwarzenegger into a role just for the sake of it. In his words:
If a role made sense, we’d absolutely do it together. 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.
Although part of Avatar 4 has already been shot since James Cameron wanted to get footage of the younger actors at their then-current age, because there will be a six-year time jump in the middle of that upcoming movie, the rest of principal photography won’t begin until Avatar 3 is released at the end of 2025. So between that the entirety of Avatar 5 waiting to be shot, there’s still some time for Arnold Schwarzenegger to come aboard if he and Cameron decides he’s a good fit for anything from a Na’vi protagonist to a human antagonist. For now though, these men are comfortable just riding their motorcycles together and being chummy in non-work settings.
The first two Avatar movies can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, and Avatar 3 will arrive in theaters on December 19, 2025. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s TV show FUBAR, which has been renewed for a second season, can be accessed with a Netflix subscription.
