Arnold Schwarzenegger Tried To Change The Terminator's Most Famous Line

While it's known as a sci-fi action classic, any fan of "The Terminator" knows it's basically a slasher movie with a terrifying killer robot at its center. James Cameron's 1984 breakout has been made even more terrifying by the recent advances in AI and Cameron's belief that the events in "The Terminator" could happen in real life — though that's still not quite as horrifying as whatever AI-written garbage Joe Russo helps usher into existence in the near future.

Anyway, the point is that "The Terminator," aside from being a touchstone of the sci-fi action genre, is also pretty darn scary. Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg killer is best described by Michael Biehn's Kyle Reese in the film when he says, "It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop ... ever, until you are dead," which sounds more like Michael Myers than a robot from the future. 

As such, embodying this relentless killing machine required Arnie to do a lot less in the way of talking and a lot more with his body language. The actor utters a mere 17 lines in the film, amounting to 58 words overall. Of those 17 lines, one in particular has become not just a memorable "Terminator" quote but one of the most iconic lines in Hollywood histroy. After tracking Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) to a police station, the T-800 turns up to take out his target, only to be told that he can't see her. It's then he delivers the line, "I'll be back."

The phrase became so popular in wider culture that, at this point, it's hard to imagine Arnie's career without it. But if the Austrian Oak had his way, it might not have become so famous.

Arnold Schwarzenegger told The Hollywood Reporter that the line as we know it was "an accident." He explained:

"I was not comfortable with saying 'I'll.' I said, 'I think it's stronger to say, 'I will be back.” Cameron said, 'Are you the scriptwriter now? It's just one word. Don't tell me how to write. I don't tell you how to act.' I said, 'You tell me how to act every f*****g minute! What are you talking about?!' So he says, 'Arnold, you think it sounds weird. It doesn't. What makes it great is that you sound different than me or Charlie over there. That's what makes it work. So just say it 10 times. Say it different ways. I'll keep rolling the camera. Then we'll choose one.' So they set it up, and I say: '(Flatly) I'll be back ... (cheerful) I'll be back! ... (guttural) I'll beeee baaaack ...' It sounded stupid."

Obviously, Cameron chose to go with his original line, which quickly became one of the most recognizable catchphrases in Hollywood. Schwarzenegger described how he first realized the line had caught on with the general public, recalling how after "The Terminator" came out, he was approached by a man in Central Park who asked him to "say the line." The "Fubar" star continued:

"Now, a few days ago, I was skiing in Aspen, and the concierge comes up asking me to say the line. So that's where it started and where it ended up. It's wild. I'm the last one to get complicated and say, 'I don't want to compare myself to my movies or use a line from my movies.' Hell, Clint Eastwood takes the clothes from his movies and that's all he wears. So why would I be worried about using a line?"

The origin of the "I'll be back" line was one of many revelations in the "Arnie" documentary on Netflix — though, Schwarzenegger's father being an abusive Nazi is probably a bit more consequential. In the doc, James Cameron explains that the line was actually written as "I'll come back" — which is, as Mental Floss notes, how it appears in Shawn Huston's novelization of the movie. The director also claimed that this "wasn't meant to be a big moment at all," originally. According to Arnie, however, once he delivered the phrase as Cameron wanted, the director told him that he got "goosebumps," seemingly recognizing the power of the moment immediately.

As it turns out, the "I'll be back" debacle was just one of many moments where Arnie wanted to do things differently. The star initially took some convincing to actually appear in the film, and was hesitant to star in what he considered a B-movie. He also originally wanted to play Kyle Reese before James Cameron convinced him to take on the T-800 role. Just as with the whole "I'll be back" situation, "The Terminator" as a whole proved to be one of the best decisions Schwarzenegger could have made, with the movie helping launch his Hollywood career. Meanwhile, "I'll be back" stands as the 37th greatest movie quotes of all time, according to AFI.