Similarly to how Terminator: Genisys will likely go down as the star’s final foray in Paramount’s sci-fi franchise – no thanks to its lowly performance both critically and financially – Arnold Schwarzenegger is gearing up for one last swing of the mighty sword as the titular hero in Legend of Conan.
Having first reared its head more than three years ago, many had assumed that Schwarzenegger had quietly cancelled plans to revisit his breakout role. However, according to the Austrian Oak himself, that simply isn’t the case.
News comes by way of TheArnoldFans, revealing that Schwarzenegger and writer-producer Chris Morgan are currently in possession of a finished script – which includes contributions from Oscar-winning scribe Andrea Berloff – and the search is on for a director to take point.
“Conan the Conqueror, where I’m sitting on the throne for years and years – decades, and then all of the sudden, the time comes when they want to overthrow me. So that story WILL be told and that movie WILL be done. Yes, Chris Morgan and I are meeting with directors at this moment. Interest is high, many are fans of Conan but we are not rushing. We have a great script and now we need the right director for the job.”
Bearing no affiliation to the Jason Momoa-fronted reboot from 2011, Legend of Conan will seemingly offer a fresh piece to the canon, picking up the story of Schwarzenegger’s weathered warrior at a time when he’s presiding over his kingdom from the throne. It’s a kernel of an idea that the actor has been nurturing for some time, too.
“I was hoping to do another one, and I [liked] the idea of Conan having been king for a long time, then just threw it all away and went into retirement and went off into the mountains. That whole idea always appealed to me. Then of course he gets asked back because of some hideous and unbelievable things that are happening to the kingdom. So that’s when the battle begins again.”
All may be quiet on the Legend of Conan front, but it appears to be marching on regardless. The search is now on for a filmmaker to take the reins, but will Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to reprise another famous role from the archives be met with fan adulation? Or a similar feeling of apathy that was directed at Genisys? Time will tell.