I wonder if there was some thinking in higher circles that 1999 was too iconic a year to be used for such pessimism, that it might be subliminally bad for their audiences/profits?

Ah yes... I remember how people were afraid of Y2K, thinking that computers would fail us and wreck our economy, but that would be too convenient for sci-fi, huh? All we ended up getting was Class of 1999, where the teachers were robots. Dystopian, yes. Apocalyptic, no.

Another Arnold movie that played into the end of the world theory though was End of Days, which came out toward the end of that year, preaching a biblical end. The producers didn't seem to be phased by any negative connotations for this year. I guess somebody had to at least try it, right?

I'm trying to think of 1999 set apocalyptic sci fi and drawing a blank. Or even much else. I've yet to see Class of 1999 myself, or even '84 actually, surprisingly. Strange Days was set in 1999 but was future noir, otherwise, hmmm... Probably more cyberpunk than anything else. I think cyberpunk probably put paid to a lot of economy fails/computers/machines go mad Y2K musings at more than a more or less self parody level 'cause it was all hip hacker VR anti Establishment business. Economy's for squares and killer toasters or whatever are just old hat kind of thing.

Maybe horror was ok 'cause it's already negative, and sci fi is "more" about action and hope? I'm just guessing, but it seemed like there was a little late 90's/early 00's religious/apocalyptic horror boom with End of Days, Stigmata, Bless The Child, Lost Souls, The Exorcist re-release and probably some others I forgot.

End of Days was kind of a weird, awkward film right? It's been ages but I remember the drama/horror thriller/action mix just not gelling, and Arnie just not fitting in with almost anything. Gabriel Byrne being badass and some goofy fun though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_set_in_1999

I suppose from those listed, Freddy's Dead is rather dystopian.

End of Days was unique in that it's one of the few horror type of movies that Arnold ever did. He hadn't delved into the genre since Terminator, then he fought the devil, then ignored the genre for a few more years until he did "Maggie", though none of these are really considered full-blown horror.

Was Maggie any good? I heard mixed things and then kinda forgot about it.

That list has some promising looking films. I especially like the look of Omega Cop, with the mighty tagline :

"The year is 1999
John Travis is the toughest cop alive
... He is the only cop alive"

Maggie is okay at best. It's supposed to be an Arnold zombie movie, but it's more of a drama than anything. You basically don't even see any zombies, but rather hear about them instead. There is maybe one scene involving some of them in a confrontation, but it's still more showcasing that Arnold can act if he wants to.

Basically, the only movies where he's an Arnold Schwarzen-actor is Maggie and Aftermath.

I've never even heard of Omega Cop. I love Maniac Cop and RoboCop... and Samurai Cop is okay, as is WolfCop (but not WolfCop 2). Still need to see Psycho Cop...

Agreed. Great movies both of 'em.

I need to give Twelve Monkeys a rewatch. It's been years. Sure it'll hold up.

But I've seen Terminator so many times it's seared into my brain. I'll fight anyone who tries to say T2 is the better of the two. :p

T2 is basically my favorite movie ever. It was the coolest thing ever to a kid who grew up in the 90s, but T1 is perhaps a bit more concise. It's definitely darker, grittier, and more of a mindfuck, but they'd both make my top 10.

I'm a huge fan of both movies, in different ways. The Terminator is such a huge part of our culture, it should probably be taught in history classes... maybe it is, I don't know. I mean, not as fact... you know what I mean.

I have different feelings about 12 Monkeys. I have seen it a bunch of times, by choice, and I do like a lot of things about it, and I definitely appreciate the effort that went into it. I am not always a massive fan of how Terry Gilliam approaches things, but I can appreciate that he spends a lot of time thinking everything over, and I have to support that.... but, I really hate how they wrecked that beautiful song in the end credits, it makes me want to #$$%^&?! cry every time I hear that song now. Also, just to try to clarify what I was saying before, I don't always like the aesthetics of the world he creates. I don't know, it just doesn't really do it for me, and it rubs me the wrong way. It grates on me. Something about how people look, and the squalor of the settings... I just don't enjoy looking at it. I don't always have this sort of reaction to scifi or horror movies, I usually just hope there are a fair number of abruptly severed heads, as you know. But, in this case, something about the way he presents the world just bugs me. Argh.