Reacher Showrunner Admits The Terminator Callback Was Complete Accident

Early on in Season 2 of Reacher, Robert Patrick’s Shane Langston reveals that he doesn’t “give a sh-t” about who Sarah Connor is, with The Terminator fans taking joy in how Terminator 2: Judgment Day starred Patrick as the killer T-1000 hunting down Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor. Despite the hilarious exchange, showrunner Nick Santora recently admitted that this joke was entirely accidental, as Rory Cochrane was originally slated to play Langston and the scripted line wouldn’t have had any significance. Santora also admitted that he had almost forgotten about the line entirely, until he watched the footage of the exchange.

“You’re asking the question I don’t want to answer … because everyone thinks we’re so smart and funny for doing it, but it was in there before Robert Patrick came in. I don’t want to lie; that’s the truth,” Santora joked to TVLine about the dialogue. “Because of some scheduling stuff, we had to recast, so I called up Ripper and said, ‘I know this is late notice — like, you’re going to need to be on a plane tomorrow — but do you want to go to Toronto and play with some really talented actors?’ And he didn’t even ask to see a script, because I had worked with him on Scorpion for years. He’s such a hard worker and he’s so freaking talented, and I don’t know why but he just jumped in.”

Patrick has starred in projects like Cop Land, Fire in the Sky, The X-Files, and Sons of Anarchy, but his breakout role was that of the liquid-metal T-1000, offering up a stark contrast to the unlikely ally of the T-800 played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the sequel. Santora expressed that he had even considered changing the line as to avoid any confusion, though ultimately knew that it would serve as an unexpected tribute to the career-defining role that fans of Patrick would appreciate.

“I really did have a thought, if I’m being 100% truthful, ‘Do I need to cut this line?’ Because it’s a phone call, so I could have easily put something else in [Saropian’s mouth] and just show the other side of the call,” the filmmaker confessed. “But I figured that fans might enjoy it. It’s such an iconic movie franchise and Robert Patrick is such an iconic actor, so let’s have a little fun!”

Season 2 of Reacher recently concluded and a Season 3 is on the way.

What did you think of the reference? Let us know in the comments!