Why The Twins Sequel Was Canceled, According To Arnold Schwarzenegger
For a decade or so now, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito have been very seriously trying to make a sequel to their 1988 hit comedy "Twins." They even had a title picked out ("Triplets"), with Tracy Morgan of "Saturday Night Live" fame on board to play the third, long-lost brother. Unfortunately, Schwarzenegger has confirmed that the project is dead in the water, and he's not afraid to point us in the direction of who to blame: Jason Reitman.
Schwarzenegger was speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in anticipation of his new Netflix series "FUBAR," which drops later this month. During the conversation, the subject of the "Twins" sequel came up. The 75-year-old action star explained that "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" director Jason Reitman, the son of "Twins" director Ivan Reitman, shut the whole thing down after his father passed away. Here's what Schwarzenegger had to say about it:
"Jason Reitman f***ed it up! Jason Reitman literally stopped the project when his father died. His father wanted to do it really badly. I wanted to do it really badly. Danny DeVito wanted to do it really badly. We had the financing. When his father passed away, Jason says, 'I never liked the idea' and put a hold on it."
Missed opportunity, or dodged bullet?
Throughout his storied career, Arnold Schwarzenegger has had a lot of hits, but "Twins" is genuinely one of his largest. The comedy carried a somewhat modest budget of $15 million, but wound up taking in an astonishingly great $216 million worldwide. Keep in mind, this was at a time when home video, cable rights, etc, could keep the profits rolling in well beyond the theatrical release. The unusual pairing of Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito worked like gangbusters for moviegoers at the time.
Ivan Reitman had been set to direct the "Twins" sequel, with Tracy Morgan joining the cast in 2021. (Eddie Murphy had originally been eyed for the third brother role.) Things seemed serious and like the movie was really, actually going to happen. Sadly, Reitman passed away last year, which stopped the project dead in its tracks — seemingly for good.
Mileage will vary from person to person on this. Are we losing out on a potentially great comedy sequel decades later, like "Bill and Ted Face the Music?" Or would this be one of those nostalgia plays that simply doesn't work, like "Blues Brothers 2000?" We'll probably never know, but in light of these new comments, one thing is for sure: Schwarzenegger does not seem happy about it.
You can catch Schwarzenegger in "FUBAR" on Netflix on May 25, 2023.