Reflecting Hollywood’s shameful lack of roles for Austrian bodybuilders over 65, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been forced to fall back on sequels and reboots of many of his past accomplishments. He’ll soon be seen as loveable Ol’ Pops Terminator in Terminator: Genisys. He’s reportedly returning as Ol’ Pops The Barbarian in The Legend Of Conan. And there’s even been talk of his joining Danny DeVito and Eddie Murphy in Triplets, as Ol’ Pops Who Does Not Understand How Medically Speaking This Is Possible, And This Is Why It’s Funny. Now Schwarzenegger says there could be another new version of an old Schwarzenegger movie starring Ol’ Pops Schwarzenegger: The Running Man.
Digital Spy reports that Schwarzenegger participated in a London Q&A over the weekend, where he laid out a filmmaking future that looks remarkably like his past. And amid discussion of all the above projects, he slipped in the possibility of revisiting the 1987 dystopian thriller, while also explaining how age is just a state of mind and constant weightlifting:
It’s an honor to be asked back after all these years, back to the [Conan] franchise. This is really wild… They’re doing a Twins sequel, to be called Triplets. I’ve read the first draft. There’s rumblings of a new Running Man movie, so it’s a great honor to be asked back… It comes back to bodybuilding. I’m used to doing cardiovascular training every day. Therefore I’m still in good shape, and I can do the action and have the energy to do these movies. They feel comfortable to ask me back and know that I can pull it off and do the stunts.
While the original Running Man, based on the Stephen King-as-Richard Bachman novel, wasn’t an enormous hit, it stands to reason that there might be “rumblings” of Running Pops. After all, the premise of criminals starring in reality shows has proved remarkably prescient in the likes of Bad Girls Club and Real Housewives Of New Jersey, while each year’s new slate of game shows involving people throwing themselves off of diving boards, smashing face-first into obstacle courses, and sitting on exploding chairs brings us one step closer to the day we finally give two people chainsaws and just tell them to have at it.
Meanwhile, movies such as The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner have had great success replicating its formula with younger, more attractive people. So indeed, perhaps now is the time for Schwarzenegger to return and kill them.
Though nothing’s official yet, Schwarzenegger reminded any studio executive drafting any new Running Man contract to eat it, then leave enough room for his fist, because it’s important to stay regular.