Many of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic 80s action movies have enjoyed some kind of legacy, with the likes of Terminator, Predator and Conan the Barbarian spawning various sequels and reboots. Despite its success, though, 1985’s Commando stands alone, without any kind of follow-up making it to the screen over the past 36 years. But that might be about to change, as it appears that Arnold is working on a (very) belated second effort.
According to tipster Daniel Richtman, Schwarzenegger is reportedly in talks for a Commando reboot. We don’t know much more than that, but given that the original was a Fox production, we can maybe assume that Disney has reached out to the Austrian icon about doing a new movie, now that they’re looking to franchise out various classic Fox properties through their 20th Century Studios banner. This update follows on from Richtman revealing that the film was in development back in January, and he also notes that “there will be a passing of the torch to a younger lead.”
The original Commando saw Schwarzenegger star as the brilliantly named Colonel John Matrix, a retired Special Forces officer whose daughter is kidnapped by his turncoat former colleague, working for a vicious South American dictator. The bad guy wants Matrix to assassinate his political rival for him, but the military hero might just prove to be not that easy to manipulate. It’s a classic of its time, but could it be about to get a new lease of life decades later?
It’s worth pointing out that this intel only tells us that the star is in talks for the Commando reboot, so we don’t know whether Arnold is particularly keen to do it or not. There is one other interesting tidbit that Richtman has shared, though. Apparently, Schwarzenegger wants to get his former rival turned pal Sylvester Stallone on board. That would be a pretty smart move, doubling down on the power of 80s action movie nostalgia, but we’ll have to see if anything comes of this.
