Arnold Schwarzenegger is writing a Punisher-style action thriller

Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t hanging up his action man credentials just yet. Not content with ticking off ‘80s blockbusters, running California, and a faintly odd YouTube fitness channel, he’s now decided to write his first ever fictional novel. No, really – The Protector is coming, and it’s what you’d get if you locked The Punisher in a confessional with a copy of The Da Vinci Code and let James Patterson do the typing.

The world’s bestselling author and the global icon, actor, former governor, and seven-time Mr Olympia are co-authoring a thriller. Father Viktor Brennan is a parish priest. He’s also The Protector. At Saint Dominic’s in East Los Angeles, Father Viktor Brennan – a spiritual leader with a murky past – is determined to protect his flock from both moral and physical harm, and to keep his new congregation safe from gang violence. LAPD Detective Sandra Reyes’s beat covers the same local territory, and she’s strictly by the book. Reyes is keeping a wary eye on the new priest – and both she and Brennan are watching a kingpin known as Cera. When an innocent victim is caught in murderous crossfire – and as revenge becomes a dangerous conversation with God – can good win out over evil?

An unlikely collaboration

Here’s where it gets a bit wild: Schwarzenegger is teaming up with James Patterson, the man with more bestselling thrillers than most people have had hot dinners. If you’ve ever read an Alex Cross book, that’s the bloke. Patterson has previously done oddball collaborations (Dolly Parton and Mr. Beast, anyone?), but Schwarzenegger is easily the most musclebound co-author he’s wrangled so far.

This isn’t a script or a Netflix miniseries – at least not yet – but a proper thriller novel featuring a Catholic priest who’s about as far from Father Ted as you can get. Father Viktor Brennan used to be a hard man before becoming a man of the cloth, and now he’s swapping the confessional for classic Schwarzenegger-style vigilantism – protecting his East LA parish from some rather nasty criminals and local gangs.

In the mix is LAPD Detective Sandra Reyes, who doesn’t exactly trust the church’s new enforcer, and a gang boss called Cera, lurking in the background. The whole thing’s got that ‘redemption-through-retribution’ vibe that’s pure Arnie, but this time it’s on the page rather than the big screen.

This is Schwarzenegger’s first foray into co-writing a work of thriller fiction, after bestsellers with his memoirs and self-help books.

So, what else is Arnie up to?

The interesting bit is The Protector is just one on a crowded slate for Schwarzenegger. On top of this literary experiment, he’s circling sequels to actual action classics: think Commando 2, another run at King Conan, plus a fresh swing at the Predator universe. Honestly, there’s more Arnie in the pipeline than there’s been in years.

Whether The Protector ends up getting the inevitable streaming series or movie makeover, you’d be daft to bet against it – with those names on the cover, you can almost smell the rights negotiations from here.