Exclusive: Francis Ford Coppola Tells Us John Milius May Be Conan Ready!

Our favorite barbarian was recently honored at the Almeria Film Festival on Sunday, September 28 and was given a star in the street next to Max Von Sydow's star.  Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived in a motorcade and there were thousands of fans scattered about the city to see him while Conan's soundtrack played on. The Austrian Oak signed a Conan poster and an Atlantean movie replica sword for the Museum of Film. Schwarzenegger said during the press conference in Spain that he'd like to push for future Conan filming in Almeria. 

We're certainly hoping The Legend of Conan is Arnold's next project and that no other action film or comedy slips in between now and the Conan start date. NOW is the time to practice with swords and continue pumping those bicep "guns" by pushing the wheel of pain.

At last, Arnold Schwarzenegger gives an update on The Legend of Conan.

"I'm looking at right now the next Conan movie and we are making the decisions of where this film will be done," Schwarzenegger says. "So I think that you are very smart here to use this timing when we are going to have our meetings in the United States and have our meetings on the script, actors, director, production, the studio, where to go. All those decisions will be made."

Currently there is no director attached to the new Conan film. TheArnoldFans broke that earlier exclusive that director Paul Verhoeven is game for Conan but now we're hearing of another director: JOHN MILIUS! The return of Conan the Barbarian's John Milius teamed with Schwarzenegger could be the ultimate fanboy nerdgasm! While many people thought Milius's stroke from a few years back took him out of the running, his good friend Francis Ford Coppola comes to his defense telling us he's getting much better and may be Conan ready! On October 1st, 2014, I spoke with The Godfather director on the red carpet for the California Hall of Fame ceremony. 

"John Milius is doing really well, Coppola assures TheArnoldFans. "Of course he had a stroke but he's regained some of his speech. But what's wonderful about him now is a real goodness exudes. He used to play games talking about his convictions and talk about his love of guns but that was all in his way of entertaining. He's a very, very sweet person and that comes out now. He's getting better. He's young so he's going to get better."

As many of you know, Milius wrote Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Coppola also tells TheArnoldFans that he helped Milius on Conan. I then told Coppola that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be filing The Legend of Conan next year and asked the Godfather director if he felt Milius has recovered enough to step back into the Conan directing chair.

"Sure. Oh yeah, without a doubt," confirms Coppola.

If you watch the documentary MILIUS (Now streaming on Netflix), you can hear Milius speak rather clearly at the end scene. Some people close to Milius have told me his speech is improving but he'll additionally write on a tablet to get his points across. This is leaps and bounds better than Schwarzenegger having to work with the Last Stand's Kim Jee-woon (who doesn't speak any English at all and needed a translator to direct). While no director may have the vision and passion to tell a Conan story like Milius, it's really up to the producers and film studio whom they feel is the best fit for the Legend of Conan. The director will be chosen in time...but that is another story. 


The Legend of Conan producer Fredrik Malmberg just announced there will be returning cast members from the first film.

"The marching orders we got from the studio was to make a sequel to the first film as if it happened 30 years later," says Malmberg. "And as I just got the final draft for the producer's script, Chris Morgan and I went through it a few days ago and we said, there are a lot of characters here that come out for the first movie and there are a lot of locations here that come out of the first movie...so it's quite timely that I happen to travel to Almeria right now."

One such cast member we hope returns is Conan's sidekick Subotai, played by Gerry Lopez.  Lopez tells TheArnoldFans that he'd certainly like to consider coming back in The Legend of Conan. Lopez also responds to our concern over Milius, his longtime friend.

"He's okay," Lopez  tells TheArnoldFans regarding Milius's health. "But I mean, his greatest joy in life, one of them, was telling stories but he's also a great listener. He's one of the unsung heroes of Hollywood that never really got the credit that he should have for a lot of things. He made some great films that never made it as blockbusters but are still, to this day, really terrific films."

To hear my full interview with Gerry, listen to Episode 9 of our Arnold Radio News podcast!

Now let's share a comment from Harry Knowles of AintItCoolNews.com. Harry gave us this quote at the World Premiere of “Expendables 3.” We were holding onto this for a Conan article, so here you go!

Harry Knowles: "Fuckin' A! You know, I think it’s a different role 30 years later. I mean, a king is somebody who is responsible for making horrible decisions as we see on “Game of Thrones,” you know. I’m interested to see if, taking the Governorship of California and having had that mantle of real responsibility and all of that, if it’s gonna be something that he’s going to view that character with, except with a real barbaric side. Arnold always talks about wishing he could take a sword to certain sides of the politics. I think whatever he does is going to be amazing!"