Arnold Schwarzenegger Returns to Hollywood

Arnold Schwarzenegger may have finished his seven-year run as Governor of California in January, but retirement seems the last thing on the mind of the 63-year-old. Having been out of office only three months, Schwarzenegger has already been approached by numerous producers intent on being responsible for the Austrian star’s comeback to film.

Besides a very brief cameo in ultimate-action flick The Expendables, for which he wasn’t credited, Schwarzenegger hasn’t been seen on the big screen since 2004 where he played a highly sexed Turkish sultan named Prince Hapi in Around the World in Eighty Days. A role which caused somewhat of a stir, given previous allegations of sexual misconduct made against the actor; it served as a slight political setback to his obtaining of the position of Governor.

The current strongest contender seems to be Korean director Kim Ji-woon, whose English-language directorial début The Last Stand now features an opening for the lead part following Liam Neeson’s decision to give the film a miss. Other potential options include director Anton Fuqua’s The Tomb and With Wings as Eagles, written by Randall Wallace.

The anticipation of an Arnie comeback appears to have had mixed results as some feel an empty space has emerged in the action world following the departure of the ‘Austrian Oak’ which can only be filled by the man himself whilst others feel his time has passed and so believe a return to film would ultimately be a new depressing low for the actor.

However, it seems Schwarzenegger is convinced he still has what it takes as he mentioned in a recent interview:

“I can step very comfortably into the entertainment world and do an action movie with the same violence that I’ve always done…I can have the same amount of heads coming off – and any other body parts – and as far as that goes, I don’t blink.”

The credibility of this statement is something which would be interesting to see realised; images of a greying pensioner hurling marines around a room would be a definite source of entertainment that many would pay good money to see.

Finally, although it is not yet certain whether Arnie will return to the a big screen, it has been confirmed that a new cartoon series titled The Governator is set for TV release. A name Schwarzenegger acquired during his time in office, the show is intended to be partially based on his political career and his return to being a private citizen but with the addition of a fictional element where he decides to be a crime-fighter working from a high-tech secret crime-fighting centre located beneath his house in Brentwood.

Whether or not the show will be a huge hit or mega flop is something we will have to wait and see but either way it seems indubitable that one of Hollywood’s greatest stars has fulfilled his promise of return – we always knew he’d be back.

Taken from The Tooth, published online Sun Apr 17th 2011.