Back in January we relayed a fascinating inkling about Mickey Rourke being added to the cast of Marcus Nispel’s CONAN remake. As Conan’s father Corin!
Today, after weeks of initial negotiation breakdowns, it’s become official: The Rourke will indeed play patriarch to Jason Momoa’s turn as everyone’s favorite cinematic barbarian!
Whether or not Momoa can keep him as our favorite is another question entirely.
According to THR’s Heatvision Blog, the flick starts filming next month in Bulgaria, and centers Conan’s quest to avenge the slaughter of his people including his father, Corin. So what does that mean for Rourke exactly, will he play the flick in flashback? Will he have a few early scenes then quickly die off? Does this discount him from the inevitability of franchise sequels, no doubt to be in 3D? All legitimate concerns it would seem.
But that’s not the only reason for potential panic. According to Hollywood Deadline, Rourke has been offered a starring role as King Hyperion in Tarsem Singh’s WAR OF THE GODS, a period actioner that Freida Pinto (below) just signed on to. According to that very report, WAR OF THE GODS has an April 7th start date, the result being Rourke may have to choose between the two parts. My guess is the two productions will tactfully schedule around each other. Otherwise, if push comes to shove…I’m fairly certain Rourke’ll pick Freida over Momoa. In fact, I’d put my life on it!
All of this comes on the news that CUBE 2 & HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION scribe Sean Hood has been brought in to give the CONAN script a once over if not a page one rewrite.
It should also be noted that stuntman/actor Raw Leiba appears on CONAN’s imdb page, currently without a character name attached. Leiba, a relative Hollywood newbie, is most likely known for his role as Balrag on the ephemeral TV series “Street Fighter: The Later Years.”
More soon, no doubt.
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