Robert E. Howard

Action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger has confirmed that the long-awaited Conan sequel, King Conan, is indeed happening. The project is set to commence filming next year. Schwarzenegger shared the news during an interview with TheArnoldFans.com to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the 1982 film, Conan the Barbarian. “Next year we are going to do King Conan,” Schwarzenegger stated. “So that is a reality now, and I am excited about it. For the last 10 years I have been saying, ‘We should do King Conan, and we should get a great script written, get someone who really understands Robert E. Howard, that understands the artwork of Frank Frazetta, and to continue on.’” Schwarzenegger also expressed hope that John Milius, who directed Conan the Barbarian, could be involved in the new film as a producer. He believes he is now at the perfect age to portray Conan in this project. "The movie wouldn’t have worked after I did the first Conan because the whole idea of King Conan is that for 40 years he has been king, he is older now," Schwarzenegger explained. "He is no longer in the shape he was from his heyday, and now people are trying to take him out. He’s the king and he gets a little bit complacent. He’s tired of the job and he wants to move on. Look at the movie by Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven. It will be a lot like that but it will be with extraordinary battles.” In March, Schwarzenegger revealed that plans for the long-awaited King Conan project were underway. He also mentioned that he had been in discussions with Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg about reprising his role as Dutch from 1987’s Predator. Additionally, there had been developments regarding a potential Commando 2. Christopher McQuarrie, who has directed the last four Mission: Impossible films, is reportedly set to write and direct King Conan. The closing moments of the original Conan the Barbarian film confirmed that, after the events of the movie, Conan and his companions left to seek adventure elsewhere, fighting in many wars and feuds before “he became a king by his own hand.” His future as a king of his own kingdom was again mentioned in the ending of 1984's Conan the Destroyer, though it was the original film that ended with a promise that “this story shall also be told.” Now it seems that promise will finally be fulfilled.