He's back! Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to movies

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Arnold Schwarzenegger is changing his famous catch-phrase to "I'm back" from "I'll be back."

The former governor of California said on Thursday that he was returning to his former role as a Hollywood action hero.

"Exciting news," he wrote on Twitter. "My friends at CAA (Creative Artists Agency, his talent firm) have been asking me for 7 years when they can take offers seriously. Gave them the green light today."

The 63-year-old actor's two terms as governor of America's most populous state ended last month, leading to much speculation as to whether he would upgrade to national political office or return to the silver screen.

In between failed efforts to plug a state deficit now pegged at about $25 billion, Schwarzenegger took time to make a few movie cameos, most recently as a mercenary leader in pal Sylvester Stallone's hit action thriller "The Expendables."

His movie career had been on the wane before he announced a surprise bid for the governorship in 2003, running as a moderate Republican.

Movies such as "End of Days" (1999), "The 6th Day" (2000) and "Collateral Damage" (2002) each failed to hit $100 million at the North American box office. Only when he reprised his title role in the third "Terminator" movie, in 2003, did he pull in blockbuster numbers.

Schwarzenegger originated the ominous line "I'll be back" in the first "Terminator" film in 1984, and it has become his trademark phrase for all occasions.

He returns to film as Hollywood suffers from a lack of brawny, laconic action men. The new breed of action hero is perhaps typified by Matt Damon, the mild-mannered headliner of the "Bourne" franchise.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Philip Barbara)