Ridley Scott Says He’s ‘Proud About’ Turning Down $20 Million to Direct Terminator 3

Ridley Scott was offered the chance to direct a Terminator movie, but not even a $20 million check could make him say yes.

In a new Q&A for The Guardian, published on Thursday, Aug. 28, Scott, 87, confirmed two-decade-old rumors that he was considered to direct the 2003 entry in the franchise, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. 

“I’m proud about this. I turned down a $20 million fee. See, I can’t be bought, dude,” Scott told The Guardian. Someone suggested he ask what Arnold Schwarzenegger was going to be paid to reprise his role as the T-800 robot. 

“I thought: ‘I’ll try it out,’” Scott recalled. “I said: ‘I want what Arnie gets. When they said yes, I thought: ‘F— me.’ ”

Even though he was astonished by Schwarzenegger’s payday, Scott said he still couldn’t make the movie.

“It’s not my thing,” the Gladiator filmmaker said. “It’s like doing a Bond movie. The essence of a Bond movie is fun and camp. Terminator is pure comic strip. I would try to make it real. That’s why they’ve never asked me to do a Bond movie, because I could f— it up.”

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was the first film in the franchise since 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day and the first one without creator James Cameron. Scott, Roland Emmerich and David Fincher were reportedly among those considered to replace Cameron as director. However, the job eventually went to Jonathan Mostow, whose credits include Breakdown with Kurt Russell and U-571 with Matthew McConaughey.

Instead of making Terminator 3, Scott turned his attention to Black Hawk Down, which hit theaters in 2001 and won two Oscars for Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

Scott isn’t opposed to doing sequels in franchises he had a hand in establishing. He has made two additional films in the Alien series, Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017). Scott was an executive producer on the Blade Runner sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017). He also directed Gladiator II (2024).

The filmmaker told The Guardian that a third Gladiator movie is “in process right now.” He would even make another Alien prequel “if I get an idea, for sure.”

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Scott’s next film is The Dog Stars, based on the novel by Peter Heller. Jacob Elordi stars as a pilot and Josh Brolin as a former Marine who face off with invaders after a catastrophic flu virus nearly wipes out humanity. Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce and Benedict Wong also star. The movie hits theaters on March 27, 2026.