Spoilers for Netflix’s FUBAR season 2 below!After teasing it throughout the episode, I’m downright disappointedFUBARseason 2 didn’t pay off its James Cameron cameo tease. The originalTerminatorpushed Arnold Schwarzenegger right to the top of the A-list, where he remained one of the biggest stars in the world for many years. Arnie’sJames Cameron movieswere some of the biggest of his career, with the duo remaining close friends offscreen. Arnie’s Netflix action comedyFUBARfeels like an unofficialTrue Liessequel, to the point where Tom Arnold plays a supporting role.
The show has leaned into itsTrue Liescomparisons, though it has its own unique tone. The second season features a mission where Arnie’s CIA agent Luke and his daughter Emma (Monica Barbaro) need to borrow a submersible, and luckily, their contact The Great Dane (Adam Pally) is friends with none other than James Cameron.This sub talk led to a flutter of excitement in me that “Iron Jim” Cameron himself would make a cameo, as he had previously done in the likes ofThe MuseandEntourage.
I’m So Disappointed FUBAR Teased A James Cameron Cameron It Didn’t Make Good On
James Cameron passed on this dive
Of course, when it cuts to Luke and Emma in the sub, James Cameron is nowhere to be seen. They and The Great Dane have a whole misadventure inside this sub too, which includes hallucinations that turn Arnie into a puppet version of himself, but the whole time I was holding out hope Cameron could still pop up when they escaped; this hope was unfounded.Cameron rarely acts, but if anybody could convince him to make a little cameo, it would be Schwarzenegger.
Alas,FUBARhas no appearances from Cameron. Now, the show isn’t shy when it comes to referencing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s past action movies, with season 2 featuring shootouts toConan the Barbarian,Total Recalland, of course,Cameron’sTerminatormovies; thankfully, the showrunners resisted the impulse to give Arnold sunglasses. The mention of Cameron and his submersibles is just another meta gag on Arnold’s part, though while watching the show, it felt like it was teasing something.
… FUBAR got my hopes up that it would deliver on its promise/threat of a James Cameron cameo, and it feels like a wasted opportunity that it didn’t happen.
Maybe there was a notion of having Cameron pop up for a scene originally, but it’s not like theAvatarauteur isn’t a busy fellow in reality. Still, the show got my hopes up that it would deliver on its promise/threat of a Cameron cameo, and it feels like a wasted opportunity that it didn’t happen.
FUBAR’s Underwater Mission Should Have Made James Cameron A Character
Having Cameron operate the sub would have been totally FUBAR
Luke and Emma seem pretty comfortable piloting a submersible, which is presumably not something CIA spies do much. It would have made more sense to include an operator who knew what they were doing on the mission - and there are few pilots in the world more capable than Jim Cameron. Since it’s his sub, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine he wouldn’t want anybody touching his equipment, so he would have insisted on piloting it himself.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s next film isThe Man with the Bag, co-starringReacher’sAlan Ritchson.
FUBARcould have had lots of fun with this scenario, playing on Cameron’s reputation as something of a tyrantand barking orders at Schwarzenegger’s Luke. He could have also delivered all the technical exposition too, since it feels odd that Luke and Emma have this knowledge already. I know such an extended cameo would be at the mercy of Cameron being willing to do it, and since he’s not an actor, he may have shied away from such an extended role.
Still, it would have givenFUBAR’ssecond season more comedic bite and generated some buzz for it. If nothing else, it would have been a nice reunion for Arnie and Cameron, who haven’t worked together in many years.IfFUBARseason 3 happens, I hope the show goes all out on itsTrue Liesconnections. It should give Tom Arnold’s Norm a bigger role, bring on Jamie Lee Curtis as a villain or an old flame of Luke’s - and maybe have James Cameron complain to Luke’s office about damaging his sub.
FUBAR
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FUBAR follows a father and daughter who unknowingly both work for the CIA, discovering their shared secret while handling an undercover mission. This unexpected revelation turns professional operations into a complex family matter, complicating the mission and their personal dynamics. Released in May 2023, it features elements of action and espionage.
