James Cameron’s decision to develop his franchise case Terminator led to one of the most successful sequels of all time. His eponymous cyborg Arnold Schwarzenegger he was portrayed as a cold-blooded killer in the first film, but returned as a hero protecting the same family he was originally sent to destroy in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” This change, however, did not convince Schwarzenegger from the beginning.

In a discussion held at the Academy Film Museum, Schwarzenegger praised Cameron’s writing skills before recalling his initial skepticism about the renewal.

“The reason it became a big hit was James Cameron. Cameron is a genius writer. He had this brilliant idea, even though I was hesitant at first,” said the actor. “He said ‘I want to make you a good TerminatorSchwarzenegger says he tried to get Cameron to double down on the brutality of the first film, but the actor admitted his desire for violence was partly fueled by his box office rivalry with Sylvester Stallone.

“I said, “What do you mean good Terminator?” In the first one I killed 68 people,” he added. “On the second one I have to kill 150. We’re going up! Cut their throats and shoot them with a cannon and blow them up in a car. I had to get over Stallone. I said my whole mission was to kill a lot of people».

Cameron ignored Schwarzenegger’s feud with Stallone and decided to go ahead with his original plan. If anything, his pleas prompted Cameron to remove even more violence from the script.

“He said, ‘Arnold, stop. You’re a very sick guy. I assure you that in Terminator 2 you will not kill a single person,'” added the actor. “I said that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. How can this be “Terminator 2” without killing anyone?».