Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t quite grasp the T2 script when he initially read it, according to James Cameron.

Terminator 2 is one of the best sequels ever produced, as well as one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most famous movie performances. T2 is one of the reasons Schwarzenegger was named the most probable celebrity to repel an alien invasion. T2 director James Cameron is now working on the Avatar sequels, and he understands the difficulties of following up a fantastic first movie. Cameron recently said that Arnold Schwarzenegger had a “Big Problem” with T2’s script, which is understandable.

During an interview with The Ringer, James Cameron recounted this experience. The action hero thought there wasn’t enough of him kicking butt in the sequel. People were expecting big combat scenes and gunplay from him, so the fact that he didn’t do nearly as much in the sequel was a surprise. Cameron was certain of his vision and sought to reassure his star. They were having this discussion in front of other people at the Cannes Film Festival, which was a concern.

His T-800 persona wasn’t murdering as many people as he should be. Any movie with Arnie in the lead role at the time usually meant a lot of deaths, thanks to his character, so the idea of him not doing much devastation in Cameron’s sequel to The Terminator was something the two had to talk about – in front of a bunch of other people at the Cannes Film Festival, of all places.

Terminator 2 was a fantastic follow-up to a great first picture, extending and altering what made the original film a success into one of the most popular films of all time. When he read the screenplay for Terminator 2, Arnold Schwarzenegger had some concerns, according to James Cameron. In fact, James Cameron revealed Arnold’s “Big Problem” with T2 to The Ringer, saying:

“I could tell there was something bugging him, right? We were pals at this point. Post-Terminator, we rode motorcycles together. And he said, ‘Jim, I have a big problem with the script.’ I said, ‘Well, what is it?’ And he said, ‘I don’t kill anybody.’ I said, ‘I know, right? They’ll never see that coming. Nobody will guess it.’”

“He said, ‘I know, but one thing is surprise. Another thing is I don’t kill anybody and I’m the Terminator.’ This is happening on some terrace at Cannes and everybody’s looking,” the director added. “I’m like, ‘Let’s talk this out.’ I give him all the reasons how it’s going to work. He said, ‘I know, but everybody knows I kick in the door and shoot everybody. That’s what I do.’”

When you consider the amount of corpses that pile up in The Terminator, it’s easy to see why he may have been turned off by the prospect of not just shooting down everything in sight for the majority of the film. Having said that, the film’s outcome wasn’t entirely catastrophic for taking the path it did.

James Cameron claims he attempted to persuade Arnold Schwarzenegger by outlining the rationale and how the sequel would work, but Arnold remained skeptical. I mean, I understand. Schwarzenegger was portraying the legendary assassin who would go into a room and wreak havoc. Fans and the actor himself anticipated it, but Cameron intended to play with that expectation, making Terminator 2 one of the most influential movies of all time in the process.