According to The Hollywood Reporter, “King Conan” is targeting a 2027 production start, with Christopher McQuarrie attached to write and direct for 20th Century Studios.
The project will bring Schwarzenegger back to the sword and sorcery world that helped define his early career, this time with an older and battle worn version of the legendary warrior.
A Return That Took Decades to Happen
The road back to Conan has been unusually long, even by Hollywood franchise standards. Plans for a third film date back to the late 1980s, when a movie titled “Conan the Conqueror” was being developed before collapsing amid scheduling conflicts and expiring contracts. Elements of that abandoned script eventually evolved into “Kull the Conqueror,” leaving Schwarzenegger’s Conan story unfinished for nearly four decades.
A second revival effort emerged in 2012 under the title “The Legend of Conan,” envisioned as a direct continuation of the 1982 original while ignoring both “Conan the Destroyer” and the 2011 reboot starring Jason Momoa. Multiple writers took passes at the screenplay before the project quietly dissolved in 2017. Now, with McQuarrie involved after directing “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” the character appears closer than ever to returning to the screen.
Schwarzenegger framed the sequel as something he had been pushing for over the last decade. “Next year, we are going to do King Conan,” he said while speaking with TheArnoldFans. “So that is a reality now, and I am excited about it.” The star added that he had long envisioned the project as a continuation that stayed faithful to the world created by Robert E. Howard and the iconic artwork of Frank Frazetta, while also expressing interest in having original “Conan the Barbarian” director John Milius return in a producing role.
The new film appears to be leaning heavily into the passage of time. Schwarzenegger described a version of Conan who has ruled for decades and is now facing the consequences of age, power, and exhaustion. “He’s the king, and he gets a little bit complacent. He’s tired of the job, and he wants to move on,” the actor said.
That approach could give “King Conan” a very different identity from the muscle driven fantasy spectacles of the 1980s. The original “Conan the Barbarian,” directed by Milius from a screenplay developed with Oliver Stone, became a cult phenomenon despite mixed reviews at release. Shot largely in Spain and built around practical effects, oversized sets, and brutal combat sequences, the picture eventually grossed tens of millions worldwide and transformed Schwarzenegger into one of Hollywood’s defining action stars.
Four decades later, the sequel now has the opportunity to revisit that mythology through a far older, more reflective version of the character who once conquered it all.
