Arnold Schwarzenegger’s classic line “I’ll be back” in The Terminator could have been very different and changed the Terminator franchise in the process. At the time that the T-800 Terminator time-traveled to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), Schwarzenegger was still a relatively fresh face coming off the success of Conan the Barbarian two years earlier. James Cameron’s The Terminator became a surprise hit that launched Cameron’s career and cemented Schwarzenegger as an action hero while making “I’ll be back” his signature catchphrase.
Funnily enough, the line itself, spoken when the Terminator arrives at the police station to terminate Sarah Connor, was a point of disagreement between Cameron and Schwarzenegger on set. Per Schwarzenegger himself in an interview (via GQ), he thought the line would be best spoken as “I will be back,” but Cameron maintained that “I’ll be back” was the better phrasing. While seemingly a small detail, had the T-800’s line been what Schwarzenegger initially argued for, it could have greatly altered not just the horror movie vibes of The Terminator, but also the entire franchise down the road.
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How Schwarzenegger’s Line Change Alters The Meaning Of “I’ll Be Back”

As Schwarzenegger explains, he felt “I will be back” was a better way to say that as “It’s more machine-like if you say ‘I will be back,'” and it is fair to say that he probably has a point. The line as Schwarzenegger argues for it sounds far more rigid, whereas “I’ll be back” is more casual. Had Schwarzenegger’s version of the line been used, it would have placed more emphasis on the T-800’s machine nature, but there would have been a significant trade-off in the line sounding less menacing.
The line Cameron pushed for has more threatening implications, with Schwarzenegger’s emotionless T-800 being refused entry to a police precinct. “I’ll be back” is not simply the T-800 stating assurance of its return, but a cold statement of intent that nothing will stand between it and its mission to terminate Sarah Connor. Had the line been spoken the way Schwarzenegger thought was best, it could also have had a domino effect on the whole Terminator franchise and even Schwarzenegger’s career.
The Terminator Franchise Could’ve Changed Without A Signature Catchphrase
It is hard to imagine “I will be back” being as enduring a quote as “I’ll be back” and might not have resulted in callbacks in the Terminator sequels and other Schwarzenegger movies, as the latter memorably did. It also would have likely changed how the subsequent Terminator sequels were marketed, removing any variation of the classic line from trailers, posters, and other such materials. In such an alternate version of events, the also oft-quoted “Come with me if you want to live,” might have taken the number one spot as the Terminator franchise’s biggest one-liner, and again, Schwarzenegger’s subsequent career by extension.
In the end, while seemingly a minor bit of dialogue minutiae, Cameron’s insistence on “I’ll be back” made the line a hallmark of the Terminator franchise, with Schwarzenegger himself commenting “I had no idea that anyone would ever repeat it, period.” Sometimes, even the most minor detail can make a massive difference in the kind of popularity a classic like The Terminator achieves. The Terminator’s catchphrase of “I’ll be back” is unexpectedly colloquial for a machine, but it ended up being one of the best creative decisions in the making of The Terminator.
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