There hasn’t been a lot of news on ‘The Legend of Conan’ recently. In fact the last thing we had heard is that Arnold Schwarzenegger was excited about the role and not a whole lot after. That honestly isn’t too surprising with him already having announced that he’ll be in ‘Terminator 5‘, the zombie film ‘Maggie‘, and possibly be in the next ‘Toxic Avenger‘ film.
The Governator is really just a busy man right now. Needless to say some projects might be moved around or sidetracked. Conan though? Let’s just say things are still moving forward on that one.
Recently Fredrik Malmberg, President & Chief Executive Officer of Paradox Entertainment, sat down to give some updates on the film. First up when asked about the film’s progress he talked about the script:
“We’re doing the script and it’s by the whole ‘Fast and the Furious’ team, which is great for a power position of the studio because they’re extremely successful – it was the biggest movie and if anyone knows how to build a franchise, it is that team. It’s Chris Morgan and Jeffery Kirschenbaum, the head of Universal. Arnold is very excited. It’s just in the phase where it takes a lot of work to get the script just right.”
The most interesting part about that, though, is the comment: “if anyone knows how to build a franchise, it is that team.” With a statement like that, clearly a stand alone movie is not what they’ve got in mind for one of Arnold’s key characters and we can expect two or more. Actually let’s call it three as when he’s asked if the film is 100% going to happen:
“Oh, It’s happening. We have a great story. Everyone loves it. This is a role that’s perfect for him (Arnold) and he’s very involved with the whole Universal team. It’s the best team they have. Arnold has been very instrumental to being this together saying, ‘We gotta make a good ‘Conan’!’ I think if we do this right, we can do two more ‘Conan’ movies right after. I think ‘Game of Thrones’ also shows a huge interest in fantasy. I’m psyched about it.”
So that looks like a trilogy of Old Conan is in the works. What about as Arnold even gets older though. Do they expect to be able to keep an old Conan around and not falling apart?
“That’s what we hope. In fact Arnold, judging by other classic actors like Eastwood who’s in his 80s, he still looks badass. I think if this film is good and is well received, then I don’t think we have to say NO to Arnold for several more movies. We can keep going forward, even after he ages.”
Looks like they are (and rightfully so since they can stick some armor on him!). One has to wonder, though, if they are bringing back Conan could we expect any of the rest of the cast to return?
“There’s Sven-Ole…he’s a cool guy. I guess at this point, there’s definitely some room for that but it has to make sense and it can’t be cheesy. It has to be very believable and it’s also crucial to Arnold that this is not too much of a throwback and yet it pays homage…it should pay some respect to the original movies but there has to be a real reason for it.”
So the thought is there but if you were hoping to see anyone in particular I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you. If not in casting, maybe we’ll see the return of something else. Say, in the score created by Basil Poledouris for the original film:
“What we could do…Jay told me they found more of Basil’s score. There’s like another full hour of unreleased music. I didn’t know he wrote more. As he was passing, they had a big outdoor concert in Spain with he music from Conan so he definitely has a big following and the score was fantastic. The question is, are you dating the movie by the same score? But I love that score. Everyone loves that score.”
So not only will we get a possibility of more of the original music but even unreleased music that fits the tone! Finally we also get some plot points on the film:
“The idea is that this takes place AFTER Conan has been king. But this is the legend of Conan where he has been gone and people say, ‘do you remember the good ol’ days when Conan was around?’ And now it’s time for him to come back. In the stories and you can also see it when he’s sitting on the thrown and the narration on that last scene of the movie…”with a troubled brow” …you can tell he’s not really happy being king. So, it’s time for him to go out and do battle.”
If you are worried about Conan not getting the proper screen time he deserves you don’t have to. They aren’t going to “Indiana Jones 4” it and introduce a son that ruins the acting of the person we WANT to see:
“The idea for this particular film is that he will be the lead, a lot of people ask if we’re going to introduce a son of Conan and passing the torch? The idea is to not. No, this is Conan’s movie. This is Arnold’s movie!”
I, for one, am looking forward to the return of Conan. Yes, Arnold is up there in years, but there’s something about the thought of a seasoned warrior that was once a King having a reason to pickup his sword again that resonates with me. I’m looking forward to seeing more on this as it develops. How about you? Are you ready for more Conan or are you afraid Arnold isn’t cut out to reprise the role anymore? Speak out below!
Source: The Arnold Fans.
