As we wait patiently for TERMINATOR: GENISYS to come out and either enthrall or disappoint us, many fans of Arnold Schwarzenegger are already looking forward to his next major reboot: CONAN! As we’ve been hearing for years now, Arnold intends to wield the sword once more in LEGEND OF CONAN, which is currently being worked on by FAST & FURIOUS producer Chris Morgan and writers Andrea Berloff and Will Beall. Last month we received a brief update from Arnold himself about the status of the picture, and today we’re hearing even more good stuff from the producers.
In an interview with Arnie disciples The Arnold Fans, Morgan sent a message to those of us who might be concerned LEGEND OF CONAN will be watered down or light-hearted:
A light-hearted Conan?! CROM! No. Our tone is a logical extension of the character established in the ’82 film…but 30 years later. When we meet him again, Conan has been many things over the course of his life — a thief, a warrior, a pirate, a king, a legend — and is now an older man. Think Unforgiven…with a sword-wielding barbarian.”
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I friggin’ love the shout-out to UNFORGIVEN in this instance; it would be all too easy for the creative team to gloss over the fact that Arnold (and Conan) are old men now. Making that very fact a part of the story is a must, and UNFORGIVEN’s themes of brutality and redemption among old warriors are very applicable to Conan.
Meanwhile, producer Fredrik Malmberg chimed in and said that not only will this film be reveling in hardcore action and political in-correctness, but it’s more or less a direct sequel to 1982’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN:
Our marching orders from the studio were to create a film worthy as a successor to the 1982 film, which was pretty brutal. To Conan it’s not about fancy sword moves; it’s about the fastest and most effective way of disposing of your enemy. A dance of death, maybe, at least primal. In my opinion, Conan is beloved because of his political incorrectness. He doesn’t think, he just acts. People can relate to the freshness of somebody who doesn’t give a damn about civilization — in fact, despises it. At the same time he is a magnificent fighter, leader and friend.”
Music to our ears… and eyes.
Morgan also revealed at least three characters from the original film will return for the new one. Hmm, any ideas? Perhaps we’ll learn more this fall, when LEGEND OF CONAN is tentatively aiming to start production.
