Simply put, we would not haveArnold Schwarzeneggerif we didn’t haveConan the Barbarian. The 1982 classic launched the career of the legendary action star, so it’s no wonder that the body-builder-turned-actor (turned-California-governor-turned-actor-again) has long desired to return to the beloved fantasy franchise. This has proven to be easier said than done, and even though a sequel starring the “Governator” was announced over a decade ago, a third entry in theConanfranchise has yet to see the light of day.
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‘Conan the Barbarian’ Conquered the Box Office
In 1982,Conan the Barbarianwas born, based on the popular novels by authorRobert E. Howard. The story begins with young Conan’s entire family getting slaughtered by the fearsome Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) — a deadly chieftain who leads a cult of snake-worshipping fanatics. While his family is killed, Conan is sold into the slave trade, where he relentlessly trains his mind and body, hoping to one day exact vengeance on the man who slaughtered his family. With the help of a weary band of misfits and outcasts, Conan succeeds in catching his quarry and becomes a legend across all the land.
Conan the Barbariancost only $20 million to make, which is a pretty impressive budget for a high-concept epic fantasy film. Even better, the film also grossed about $68 million at the international box office, officially declaring the film a financial success. While Schwarzenegger was already decently well-known for his body-building career, his lead role asConan the Barbarianwas his first step to movie stardom.
‘Conan the Destroyer’ Demolished Any Hope for a Franchise
After being warmly received by audiences and bringing in decent returns at the box office,Conan the Barbariangetting a sequel was practically guaranteed. We got one two years later withConan the Destroyer, which saw the titular barbaric adventurer saving an imprisoned princess. Unfortunately, the sequel wasn’t nearly as warmly received as its previous film, with fans thinking this new version of Conan lost all the grit and grime of the original, evident fromConan the Destroyer’s PG rating when the first film was rated R.
Just like that, this would be the last we’d see of Arnold Schwarzenegger’sConanfranchise. As mentioned,Conan the Destroyerdidn’t resonate nearly as well as the first film did with audiences and critics, and that’s very much reflected in the less-than-great box office earnings that didn’t even double the film’s budget. While the film is generally considered a failure, Schwarzenegger’s career would skyrocket again later that year when he starred in a little film calledThe Terminator.
The Many Failed Attempts To Revive the ‘Conan’ Franchise
Arnold Schwarzenegger would sort of return as Conan inRed Sonja. We say sort of because while the two characters live in the same universe in the comics, a rights issue prevented Conan from being in the film, so Schwarzenegger instead plays a similar character named Lord Kalidor. While not quite the disaster thatConan the Destroyerwas, even developing something of a cult following,Red Sonjastill didn’t do well with reviews and was a massive box office bomb.
Conan would finally return to theaters in 2011 in the form of a remake starringJason Momoa, which sounds like it would be a surefire hit. A modern, updated reimagining of Conan the Barbarian starring Aquaman himself seems like it has the makings of something really promising, but the result was something less than stellar. With bloated CGI and weak performances across the board, 2011’sConan the Barbarianwas far from the incredible success story fans hoped for, again being a massive failure at the box office.Even Jason Momoa thinks that the film “really sucked.”
TheConanfranchise, for lack of a better term, is cursed — cursed to have a significant number of projects sent to development hell, a tradition that began long before the original 1982 film. FilmmakerOliver Stonewas initially tapped to tackle the project,even penning a screenplay that was a whopping four-hour epic. The script was ultimately scrapped in favor of the more approachable and simplistic storyline that we get in the 1982 film.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Seemingly Wants To Return to the ‘Conan’ Universe
Years after walking away from the role, Arnold Schwarzenegger has stated in multiple interviews that he’s interested in becoming Conan yet again.That wish seemingly came true in 2012 whenThe Legend of Conanwas announced, which was promised to be a direct sequel to 1982’sConan the Barbarian. Supposedly the story would follow an older and wiser Conan as he returned to the Hyborian Age for one more adventure. Again, this was back in 2012, and though a script was reportedly completed,Universal dropped the project according to producerChris Morgan. Despite this, Schwarzenegger maintained that “interest is high” in the long-delayed project and that he’s confident it will still come to fruition one day.
Following the film’s alleged cancellation at Universal, Chris Morgan did state that the project could find new life as a television series. Credence to this idea was given in 2020when Netflix announced that aConan the Barbariantelevision series is in development, though it’s currently unknown if the prospective series has anything to do withThe Legend of Conan’s canned screenplay or has any involvement with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Much likeThe Legend of Conan, information has been sparse on the project for three years now, so we’ll have to see if it’s just a long-gestating marvel or just another cancelled attempt to bring Arnold Schwarzenegger’s flagship action hero to the big screen.
