Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to turn 68 years old this year. That seems a bit too old to play Conan the Barbarian, the role that arguably first made the bodybuilder an action star in 1982. Yet 33 years later, Schwarzenegger is ready to reprise his role as the Cimmerian destroyer, taking the lead in The Legend of Conan.
In an interview with TheArnoldFans.com, producer Chris Morgan (Fast & Furious 6) said the plan is to make a sequel to 1982’s Conan the Barbarian, revisiting the character 30 years later. He likened it to “Unforgiven… with a sword-wielding barbarian.” (Comic book fans might also draw comparisons to a 55-year-old Batman coming out of retirement in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns miniseries.)
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Of course, Schwarzenegger is reprising his role as The Terminator this summer, blasting guns and punching robots in Terminator: Genisys. So the idea of him taking on an old character from 30 years ago isn’t necessarily that outlandish.
The Legend of Conan does not yet have a director attached, but IMDB lists Will Beall (Gangster Squad) and Andrea Berloff (Straight Outta Compton) as the screenwriters, and the script has just been turned in to Universal Pictures. Pending approval, plans are to begin shooting in the fall.
According to Morgan, the tone will resemble that of John Milius’ 1982 story, which was true to the original Robert E. Howard novels, and include three other characters from the first Conan film. Both the 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer and the 2011 remake starring Jason Momoa as Conan will be ignored, which I doubt many fans will object to.
“It is the greatest honor to be 67 years old and to still be asked to come back into all those franchises,” Schwarzenegger told TheArnoldFans. “Whether it is the Terminator movie or it is now Conan, it is fantastic!”
