Ratner: Cop then Conan

Although we’d heard his name in the mix for a while, it was confirmed just the other day that Brett Ratner would be bringing us the beheadings and barely clothed babes for a new CONAN.

Or did someone speaketh too soon? According to Ratner himself, yes. And that someone is producer Avi Lerner, who made the announcement at last week’s high-profile American Film Market event.

“Let me make this very clear,” Ratner bluntly elaborated to the LA Times. “I am not doing CONAN now. This is totally premature. For now, CONAN is only a development deal. I have a deal at Paramount and I’m doing BEVERLY HILLS COP first, no matter what. Avi shouldn’t be telling you or anyone else in the press what I’m doing.” Whooops… Read more about the whole shemozzle RIGHT HERE.

That pretty much sums up the status of the Hyborian Age barbarian — while screenwriters knock his new adventures into shape, Ratner will be busy attempting to resuscitate Eddie Murphy’s most famous non-fatsuit franchise.