The last couple of years has seen Arnold Schwarzenegger return to his most famous role as The Terminator, and unsuccessfully attempt to take over Donald Trump’s former role on NBC reality show The Apprentice. Now, The Governator is about to star in new Western drama series Outrider, also executive produced Schwarzenegger, and being developed by Amazon.

“Arnold Schwarzenegger” (CC BY 2.0) by UNclimatechange

Outrider, executive produced/co-written by Trey Callaway (CSI: NY, The Messengers, APB) and Mark Montgomery is a show set in the 1800s in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. The mystery tells the dangerous and dark story of a deputy who has been assigned to catch a legendary outlaw. The other exec producer is Mace Neufeld, who is also taking on the same role for Jack Ryan, another new Amazon series.

Arnie’s scripted TV debut

The Austrian-born Terminator star will portray the Federal Marshal. Should the series progress, it would actually mean Schwarzenegger’s first scripted television role. He has made appearances on shows as himself, and, of course, hosted NBC’s The New Celebrity Appearance. This would also be the star’s third foray into the western genre, after The Last Stand and a movie called The Villain. The latter was released in 1979, just five years prior to The Terminator. Unless you’re a Hal Needham nerd or so into Arnold Schwarzenegger that you just had to see him play the handsome stranger in a comedy-western, you probably haven’t seen it.

 

The West won’t die

While not quite its heyday, the western has made something of a comeback of late, both in TV and film. Godless is currently enjoying success on the small screen and moviegoers only recently saw Christian Bale in Hostiles. The popularity of the genre doesn’t end there, however. There are countless books and graphic novels dedicated to tales of the Old West, as well as numerous video games in the genre, including Red Dead Redemption (with the sequel to be released this October), Hard West, and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. There are also a number of slot games, including Wild Wild West: The Great Train Heist, available through freecasinoslots.ca, which reviews all games on its site. The latter comes with 200 free spins and a $600 bonus, which is a great start for a heist.

Hasta la vista, Terminator

The move into television makes sense for the actor. His days as a blockbuster movie star appear to be behind him, and he’s had a habit of taking on more obscure and interesting projects of late. The movie Maggie is an example of how he put aside his action star persona and delivered an honest dramatic performance. Outriders is yet another coup in a very long list of new series for Amazon. The streaming service invested heavily recently when it acquired the rights to a new Lord of the Rings series. It’s also planning a new series based on Conan the Barbarian. Of course, Schwarzenegger played the lead character in the two original movies in the franchise.