1984 marked the beginning of one of the best sci-fi movie franchise ever made, The Terminator. It followed the story of a cyborg assassin that was sent back in time to kill the son of Sarah Connor, who would eventually save the world from robots in the future. The movie was very well received, and became an instant classic of the 80's. Sequels followed that would continue to make the franchise a classic staple of the movie industry.
The modern day has had its fair share of Terminator movies, yet none of them have been as critically or fan-acclaimed as the first few movies were. A lot of fun facts can be attributed to the long running franchise, which is what this list has compiled for you here.
Here are 15 fun facts about The Terminator franchise.
15 Arnold Schwarzenegger Stayed Away From His Cast-Mates During Filming To Create More Realistic Scenes
The first movie of the franchise is the only one where Arnold Schwarzenegger was the villain of the movie. In order to keep this feeling realistic, he stayed away from his fellow cast members such as Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn in order to not grow any off-screen relationships with them.
14 James Cameron Sold The Original Script To His Wife For $1 Dollar
James Cameron had yet to emerge as one of the biggest directors in the movie business at the time of The Terminator production. In order to direct the film with his complete vision in mind, he had to sell the rights of the movie to producer Gale Anne Hurd (who he married one year later) for just one dollar.
13 Arnold Schwarzenegger Wanted To Change The Famous "I'll Be Back" Line
The famous "I'll be back" line that Arnold Schwarzenegger made famous in The Terminator was almost changed. Arnold apparently didn't like the way the phrase sounded and wanted to say "I will be back." Luckily, James Cameron made him say it the original way which worked out the best for everyone.
12 Edward Furlong Had To Film Scenes Standing In A Hole Due To His Rapid Growing
Edward Furlong got his breakthrough role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He was just 13 years old at the time, so puberty had him growing rapidly during filming. This meant he had to stand in holes while filming some scenes, so his character didn't appear to grow so much in the movie.
11 Christian Bale Regrets Ever Acting In Terminator Salvation
Christian Bale made headlines with his meltdown on the set of Terminator Salvation which was recorded and leaked to the public. Bale says he signed on "out of spite" and even though he said there was no substantial story behind the film, he tried to reinvigorate the franchise which didn't work.
10 Arnold Schwarzenegger Originally Wanted To Play The Role Of Kyle Reese
Another Arnold Schwarzenegger decision we are happy didn't come to fruition, was his desire to play the role of Kyle Reese. James Cameron thought he would fit much better as the Terminator instead, which helped the movie succeed and Arnold's acting career flourish as well.
9 The Franchise Has Broken Records For Production Costs Multiple Times
The Terminator franchise was one of the biggest names in the movie industry back in the 80's and 90's. The original movie was such a breath of fresh air that the sequel became the most expensive movie ever made, which was followed up by the third installment, which broke the same record.
8 O.J. Simpson Was Considered For The Terminator
O.J. Simpson was actually considered for the role as the Terminator for the original movie before Schwarzenegger was chosen to play the part. According to Groovy History, producers believed O.J. wouldn't be believable as the cyborg killer, because of how nice of a person he was in real life.
7 Arnold Schwarzenegger Spent Weeks Practicing With Guns Before Filming
The Terminator that Schwarzenegger played had to be familiar with the ins and outs of weaponry. To prepare for the role, Arnold had to practice with guns for weeks before filming because his character of the Terminator could strip and rebuild a weapon in just seconds, which really made the movie feel more genuine.
6 The Terminator Was Originally Supposed To Have A Cyborg Dog Sidekick
One of the early ideas of the first film was to have a cyborg dog sidekick that followed around the Terminator. This would have been an interesting concept, but fans were fine with seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger work alone, as he really didn't need much help to begin with, in the first film at least.
5 Sting Was Offered $350,000 To Play The Role Of Kyle Reese
According to ETonline.com, Sting was offered 350,000 thousand dollars back in January of 1983 to play the role of Kyle Reese in The Terminator. He had to decline the role due to a world tour that was approaching, but it would have been pretty cool to see a young Sting try and save the world in the film.
4 Arnold Schwarzenegger Had Just 14 Lines In The First Terminator Film
Arnold Schwarzenegger became a household name from his devastating villain role in the original movie. He did such a great job of portraying the cyborg killer, that even with just 14 lines spoken in the film, fans could still appreciate the great acting that Arnold was doing as the Terminator.
3 The Idea For The Terminator Came From A Fever Dream James Cameron Had
Buisinessinsider.com has said that the idea for The Terminator came from a fever dream that James Cameron once had. During the filming of Piranha II: The Spawning, which Cameron says he regrets ever doing, he had a dream during a high-fever episode where he imagined the plot of the cyborg which would turn out to be The Terminator movie.
2 The T-1000 Was Supposed To Be In The First Film, But Was Too Expensive To Make
The T-1000 was one of the best antagonists in the entire Terminator franchise. It was great to see Arnold (T-800) face off against the better equipped T-1000, but this battle was originally set for the first movie. However, the T-1000 was to expensive for the first film's budget, so it was moved to the second installment of the franchise.
1 Arnold Schwarzenegger Said Terminator Salvation Sucked
Many people are aware that Terminator Salvation was one of the worst films in the franchise. The story was bland and it did not have the same magic the first few movies had. Hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger say the movie "sucked" however, is not something you would expect to hear from him, but that's just Arnold's classic honesty coming through.