Arnold Schwarzenegger will return to the Hyborian Age and to the role that made him a movie star, Conan the Barbarian, in "The Legend of Conan," a new film from Universal Pictures, according to a report on website Deadline.
Paradox Entertainment, the same studio that produced 2011's "Conan the Barbarian in 3D," which starred Jason Momoa as the legendary Cimmerian, will produce the film. Fredrik Malmberg runs Paradox and will produce alongside the screenwriter of "Fast and the Furious" and "Wanted," Chris Morgan.
"Conan the Barbarian in 3D" received negative reviews and currently has a 23-percent aggregate rating on the review-aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. According to Boxofficemojo the film has to date only grossed $48,795,021 worldwide.
"The caveat is that the studio wants The Legend of Conan for summer 2014, and Morgan might not be finished writing the seventh Fast and Furious installment by then," Deadline claims. "If that happens he will be a very active producer, because this is Morgan's dream project."
If the studio gets the project up and running, the new film "The Legend of Conan," will be a sequel to 1982's "Conan the Barbarian" and will pretend like its sequel "Conan the Destroyer" and the 2011 remake never happened.
"The original ended with Arnold on the throne as a seasoned warrior, and this is the take of the film we will make," Malmberg told Deadline. "It's that Nordic Viking mythic guy who has played the role of king, warrior, soldier and mercenary, and who has bedded more women than anyone, nearing the last cycle of his life. He knows he'll be going to Valhalla, and wants to go out with a good battle."
The former governor of California expressed his excitement of returning to play the character to Deadline.
"I always loved the Conan character and I'm honored to be asked to step into the role once again," Schwarzenegger told Deadline. "I can't wait to work with Universal and the great team of Fredrik Malmberg and Chris Morgan to develop the next step of this truly epic story."
Schwarzenegger was attached to the planned 1987 film "Conan the Conqueror," the third film in the original series, but the film fell through after Schwarzenegger's original contract expired. He nearly returned to the role in the planned Conan film titled "King Conan: Crown of Iron," but his political career ended the project.
Watch the 1982 trailer for "Conan the Barbarian" below...
