Original Predator producer John Davis explains why Arnold Schwarzenegger did not return for Predator 2. Schwarzenegger played the lead role of Dutch in the 1987 original Predator from director John McTiernan. The film was a box office success and a sequel soon developed, but Schwarzenegger surprisingly did not return, causing a casting switch that brought in Danny Glover to lead Predator 2 in lieu of Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger would go on to do Total Recall and Kindergarten Cop in 1990, the same year Predator 2 was released. The sequel failed to earn the same critical and box office success as the original, which stalled the franchise until 2004's AVP: Alien Vs. Predator. Since then, multiple Predator films have been released without Schwarzenegger, including AVP: Requiem, Predators, The Predator, and the prequel film, Prey, currently playing on Hulu. At one point, Schwarzenegger was expected to return for Predator 2, but that obviously didn't come to pass.

In a retrospective interview with Davis (via Variety), the producer discussed Schwarzenegger's Predator 2 exit, revealing it ultimately came down to money that stopped him from continuing the role. Original Predator writers Jim and John Thomas wrote the script for Predator 2 as well, which Davis called "a really wonderful script" that would feature Schwarzenegger's Dutch in the lead role. However, negotiations with Schwarzenegger broke and "the whole deal fell apart over $250,000," according to Davis. The producer goes on to say that 20th Century Fox studio head Joe Roth was unwavering over the fee, saying "‘I won’t go past this number’ and Arnold wanted this other number.”


Despite several sequels being made since the original debuted, Schwarzenegger's character has only reappeared in the Predator: Hunting Grounds video game, which the star provided voice work for. In a DLC for the game, Schwarzenegger's Dutch is shown to have continued his battle with the Predators and even has ties back to Predator 2, in which he meets with Agent Peter Keyes (played by Gary Busey in the film) to trade intel on the alien creature. Predator: Hunting Grounds continues Dutch's story up through the year 2025, with his character still alive and still hunting Predators, while using their medical technology to stay alive. Schwarzenegger's involvement with the game illustrates despite the salary dispute, he harbors no ill will towards Predator creatives and is up for reprising Dutch under the right circumstances.

It will always be a shame that Schwarzenegger's Dutch didn't return to the Predator franchise in live-action form, but Glover handled taking the lead with ease in Predator 2. The Predator franchise has continued to try and fill Dutch's boots throughout the films ever since, but it simply wasn't the same without Schwarzenegger. Hulu's Prey has offered up a new kind of protagonist, a female Comanche warrior in the 1700s, which has shown that perhaps it is better to try out different lead characters for the franchise, rather than copying what Schwarzenegger did so well in the original.