It's been almost two years since we heard the big announcement that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be back as Conan, the barbarian turned king. Older, wiser and more pissed off, king Conan comes out of retirement for one last brutal battle...so we were told. However, considering the silence on this project, we can probably assume that The Legend of Conan is dead or strapped to the Tree of Woe, right? WRONG! Fans, I am hear to tell you the news that is best in life!
Fredrik Malmberg, a producer of The Legend of Conan, tells TheArnoldFans in an exclusive interview that they were very pleased with Andrea Berloff's "Legend of Conan" script and now they're close to finishing up with a rewrite.
"We want to polish up the script, specifically about the characters," says Malmberg, "but we don't think it will take long. We'll probably have this turned in around September after the holiday and then we'll take it to the studio and if they're happy, we can hopefully start (production) in the Spring (2015)."
Is it too early to discuss directors?
"We haven't been talking with directors yet," Malmberg tells us. "A lot of directors have come forth and expressed interest and that they like Conan and want to be involved when we're at that stage but the studio said they want the script to be ready before we officially approach the directors. But we have been in touch with old great names ;) and new fresh faces. We're excited about finding the right guy for that."
What is Arnold next movie? Would this King Conan film be Arnold's follow-up film to Terminator?
"That's the intention," says Malmberg. "Arnold wants that. I would like that and I know everyone from the studio side would like that but it's all in the script. We need to get the script where it's right and ready to go. In the movie world, nowadays, when a movie is a go movie, it happen very quickly. It's up to Universal to set the date for it to be released but personally, I don't think it has to be a summer movie. I think there's plenty of examples of big event movies being released in the winter like the Matrix movies and The Lord of the Rings. I can see this being a winter movie as well as a summer movie. This iconic role of Arnold as Conan is so big that it can be year round."
With Arnold now 67, he's reached the perfect age to play the grey bearded king that we all saw at the end of the first two films.
With Arnold now 67, he's reached the perfect age to play the grey bearded king that we all saw at the end of the first two films.
"Age doesn't mean anything to me," Schwarzenegger tells TheArnoldFans. "Because I work out every day. I work out twice a day, as a matter of fact. At night I work out with weights, and in the morning I do cardiovascular training. So for me, to get on the set and to swing the sword around again and to ride the horses and all those things doesn't mean anything [does not scare me], because I feel like I did thirty years ago. So as long as I stay in shape, that's the key thing, and to keep your body young."
