Arnold Schwarzenegger To Return As 'Conan The Barbarian' In THE LEGEND OF CONAN
Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to return as Conan the Barbarian in Universal's The Legend Of Conan. It will skip over both the sequel to the original 1982 film (and last year's remake which starred Jason Momoa) for a Summer 2014 release. Read on for details and comments from those involved.
It seems like today is going to be full of "WHA-?!" moments, as Deadline has now revealed that Arnold Schwarzenegger is set to once again play Conan the Barbarian in The Legend Of Conan. He'll reprise the role of the Robert E. Howard creation after first playing the character in 1982. "The original ended with Arnold on the throne as a seasoned warrior, and this is the take of the film we will make," producer Fredrik Malmberg told the site. "It’s that Nordic Viking mythic guy who has played the role of king, warrior, soldier and mercenary, and who has bedded more women than anyone, nearing the last cycle of his life. He knows he’ll be going to Valhalla, and wants to go out with a good battle."
That means they'll be completely disregarding the 1984 sequel that Schwarzenegger starred in AND the 2011 reboot. "This movie picks up Conan where Arnold is now in his life, and we will be able to use the fact that he has aged in this story. I love the property of Conan so much that I wouldn’t touch it unless we came up with something worthy. We think this is a worthy successor to the original film. Think of this as Conan’s Unforgiven," adds Malmberg. There's currently no word on whether or not it will be R-Rated, but Schwarzenegger had this to say about returning. "I always loved the Conan character and I’m honored to be asked to step into the role once again. I can’t wait to work with Universal and the great team of Fredrik Malmberg and Chris Morgan to develop the next step of this truly epic story."
This is a surprising, but undeniably interesting direction to take Conan in. Universal Pictures are apparently hoping to get the film in theatres by Summer 2014, with Chris Morgan (Wanted, 47 Ronin) expected to write the script. How do you guys feel about seeing a sequel to the original movie? Sound off with your thoughts in the usual place!