Arnold Schwarzenegger will star in 'Secret Level' episode specifically written for him

Arnold Schwarzenegger has his next project lined up, and it's one that was specifically written for him. Schwarzenegger will voice one of the characters of "Secret Level," a new animated series from Prime Video inspired by some of the most popular video game franchises. The anthology series consists of stand-alone episodes exploring various video games, starring some of the most iconic voices in the business, including Schwarzenegger, Keanu Reeves, Gabriel Luna, and more. 

In the case of Schwarzenegger, his persona was baked into the concept of the show while it was being written. Tim Miller, one of the series creators alongside Dave Wilson, revealed that the episode "New World: Aeternum" revolved around the concept of a less skilled "Conan the Barbarian," one of Schwarzenegger's most famous characters.

"He had a great time," said Miller in an interview with Collider.

"The pitch is great. Dave [Wilson] does this great outline of every episode where he kind of sums it up in a quick one, and his summation of that episode is, “What if Conan was all talk?” That was kind of the pitch of the show, and it was great. Then, of course, we got Arnold to do it."

Wilson shared that the episode was written after Schwarzenegger approved the idea and chose to get involved in it, showing that his involvement was the only reason it was made. 

"We didn't follow a typical casting process on the show," said Wilson. "I would get these videos periodically from Tim, and this one was Arnold Schwarzenegger saying, 'Whatever you want me to do, I'll be in the show.' I was sitting in a room with JT writing stories, and I'm like, 'Let's pivot and write something different.' That's where 'New World' came from."

More details about 'Secret Level'

"Secret Level" will be exploring some of the most popular gaming franchises in its first season, including "Dungeons & Dragons," "Mega Man," "The Outer World," "Warhammer," and more. There will be 15 episodes in total, which will begin dropping on Prime Video on December 10th. Two episodes will premiere on the streamer on a weekly basis.