WTF Happened to Last Action Hero?

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Hollywood has had its fair share of historically troubled productions. Whether it was casting changes, actor deaths, fired directors, in-production rewrites, constant delays, budget cuts or studio edits, these films had every intention to be a blockbuster, but were beset with unforeseen disasters. Sometimes huge hits, sometimes box office bombs. 

In the latest episode we look back at what happened to director John McTiernan's meta-satirical "family" 1993 action flick LAST ACTION HERO, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charles Dance and Austin O'Brien. Written by Zak Penn and Adam Leff with a script by Shane Black and David Arnott, the film was set up to be a summer tentpole extravaganza, but ended up faultering and failing to connect with a mass audience, who weren't really onboard with the confusing thematic elements and meta quality. However, as time has gone on the film has garnered a cult status, with viewers finally "getting" the intent of the film and enjoying it for what it is (or rather, what it wants to be). With so much on the line and so much at stake for what should've been a slam dunk at the box office, we have to ask the question; WTF Happened To This Movie?