Schwarzenegger's Glorious Return to Acting is a Jokey Cartoon Show

Aside from his cameo appearance in "The Expendables" and the digital use of his face for "Terminator Salvation" it's been a while since fans have been able to see Arnold Schwarzenegger do anything other than try to run the state of California. Now that he's leaving office Arnold is ready to get back into the entertainment game. He announced via twitter some time back that he was definitely returning to acting. Later he hinted at that return coming in the form of a TV show rather than a movie. Now the on-line arm of Entertainment Weekly has broken the news of what that TV show will be: an animated super hero show called "The Governator."

"The Governator" will essentially be a fictionalized version of Schwarzenegger himself, telling the story of a former California governor who becomes a super hero to fight crime after he leaves office. It will include many aspects from the star's real life, such as his wife and children. But there will of course be plenty of outrageous aspects as well. Apparently Schwarzenegger will have a secret lair, an Arnold Cave if you will, beneath his house. He'll have a various vehicles and "super suits" that he uses to fight crime as well as a number of sidekicks including a 13 year old computer expert. Every super hero needs a nemesis and it appears that the main antagonist for "The Governator" will be an evil organization called Gangsters Impostors Racketeers Liars & Irredeemable Ex-cons, otherwise known as the G.I.R.L.I.E. Men.

That may all sound like Schwarzenegger was joking and making it up as he went along, but apparently this is really happening. He's enlisted the assistance of comic book legend Stan Lee to help come up with the various concepts and stories for the series. Lee may be the greatest comic book character creator of all time, having conceived of such characters as Spider-man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk and the X-men. Of course pretty much all of that was in the 1960s. This project seems more in-line with his more recent output such as the 2003 animated TV show "Stripperella" which starred Pamela Anderson and lasted for one season on Spike TV. The EW article made no mention of whether or not any network has agreed to pick up "The Governator" but it was made clear that the show is still in its early phases and won't be ready to air until sometime next year.

Schwarzenegger's decision to do a cartoon is a somewhat odd one. On the one hand the tongue in cheek nature of the show is very much in keeping with the actor's sense of humor and his often self deprecating roles in live action comedies over the years. However for the many things that Schwarzenegger has been best known for his voice isn't exactly his strong suit. The actor certainly has a recognizable voice but its so easily imitable (as has been seen on various sketch comedy shows over the years) it almost seems unnecessary to even have the real deal for a project like this. One would assume that with the limited time commitment of voice work that Schwarzenegger would still be free to return to live action acting. However it seems like the actor is involved on the creative end of this project as well, which will doubtlessly eat up more of his time and may further delay any flesh and blood return to the screen.

While this is hardly the return to glory that Schwarzenegger's fans were probably hoping for it may only be the beginning. A more casual beginning to his return through the cartoon may be the actor's way of easing back into things rather than trying to pick up where he left off. At 63 and no longer sporting his Mr. Universe body, Schwarzenegger isn't exactly as convincing an action hero as he was when he first became the governor. Perhaps this is what he will use to fill the time while he finds his footing again and decides what direction to take his career in. Then again it may be an indication of nothing but goofy self parody on the horizon, only time will tell.