Why Arnold Schwarzenegger Must Always Be Back As The Terminator

[Warning: If you live under a rock and haven't seen the trailers for Terminator: Genisys, this article contains spoilers]

In today's age of reboots, relaunches and revamps, there are very few things that are irreplaceable in Hollywood. Roles can be recast, plot lines retooled, and actors brought back from the dead using CGI, body doubles and the willing cooperation of the actor's next of kin. But every successful relaunch requires the soul of the franchise to remain intact. A reboot can "feel" new and shiny, but it needs to retain the essence of the series if its fans are to accept it.

The Terminator franchise learned this the hard way. Its first attempt at a reboot, Terminator: Salvation was a disaster, performing mediocrely at the box office and earning negative reviews from most critics. Salvation's poor performance can be blamed on a few aspects. It was a dull, CGI heavy movie with mediocre acting and a boring plot. It also lacked series star Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose sole appearance in the film came via a CGI body double. Without Schwarzenegger, whose T-800 character remains one of the most popular and recognizable film characters to this day, Salvation had little chance of succeeding.

For all intents and purposes, Schwarzenegger is the Terminator franchise. People don't care about John Connor or Kyle Reese, they want to see the T-800, with his expressionless face, his monotone catchphrases and his smooth gait as he strides towards the enemy firing round after round of high-explosive ammunition. Schwarzenegger, with his effortless delivery of cheesy catchphrases and ability to turn every action sequence into a heart stopping thrill ride, turned the Terminator franchise from a repetitive series of two hour chase scenes framed by a time travel paradox into one of the most recognizable movie series of all time.

Schwarzenegger and the Terminator franchise have a long and symbiotic relationship. While the original Terminator film wasn't his first breakout hit, it helped propel him to superstardom and the T-800 remains the actor's most iconic role. Not only have many of Schwarzenegger's other films incorporated lines or nods to his Terminator character, the actor used many of the movies' iconic lines into his successful gubernatorial campaign in 2003. In fact, Schwarzenegger's more recent nicknames, "the Governator", references the impact the Terminator series has had on his career. Schwarzenegger has remained loyal to the franchise as well. It's one of only two movie franchises (the other being the long dormant Conan series) that Schwarzenegger has headlined more than once. In a career built upon standalone action movies, the Terminator franchise remains the exception.

With the memories of Terminator: Salvation fresh in their mind, Paramount seems intent on recapturing the magic of the original Terminator films. Not only is Terminator: Genisys set in the present day, it also features two versions of Schwarzenegger's T-800 character, one played by Schwarzenegger himself and a younger version played by a body double and CGI motion capture. There's not much novelty left in a Terminator movie, but I will confess that I'm curious how old man Schwarzenegger stacks up to his younger counterpart. While I've yet to see Terminator: Genisys, the early trailers indicate that it retains the spirit of the original Terminator films, largely due to Schwarzenegger's presence.

There probably wouldn't be a Terminator series without Arnold Schwarzenegger. Would original director James Cameron have chosen a lesser actor, The Terminator probably would be remembered as a cult 80s movie that tried really hard at not being a B-rate sci-fi film. Instead, we have the Governator and a fifth movie in the series. And hopefully, like his iconic T-800, Schwarzenegger will be back for plenty more Terminator films.

Could you imagine another Terminator film without Schwarzenegger? Let us know in the comments.