New CONAN Movies Confirmed, with Schwarzenegger reprising the lead role

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been set to return to his iconic role (the role that started his career); Conan the Barbarian. The King Conan movie was a project that was in development right before Schwarzenegger got too busy with him being the Governor of California a couple of years back. Now, Paradox Entertainment (the current property holders of the Conan franchise) President and CEO Frederik Malmberg has confirmed that this project will indeed be happening, and this new Conan movie is being prepped to be the start of a new Conan trilogy. [continue after the jump]

Fredrik Malmberg, in an interview with The Arnold Fans (via AICN) recently revealed some details about the project:
“Oh, it’s happening. We have a great story. Everyone loves it. This is a role that’s perfect for [Arnold] and he’s very involved with the whole Universal team. It’s the best team they have. Arnold has been very instrumental to bringing this together saying, ‘We gotta make a good Conan!’ I think if we do this right, we can do two more ‘Conan’ movies right after. I think ‘Game of Thrones’ also shows a huge interest in fantasy. I’m psyched about it.”

“[The script is] by the whole ‘Fast and the Furious’ team, which is great for a power position of the studio because they’re extremely successful. It was the biggest movie, and if anyone knows how to build a franchise, it is that team. It’s Chris Morgan and Jeffery Kirschenbaum, the head of Universal. Arnold is very excited. It’s just in the phase where it takes a lot of work to get the script just right.”

Malmberg then gave us an idea what to expect in the new movie:
“The idea is that this takes place AFTER Conan has been king. But this is the legend of Conan where he has been gone and people say, ‘Do you remember the good ol’ days when Conan was around?’ And now it’s time for him to come back. In the stories and you can also see it when he’s sitting on the throne and the narration on that last scene of the movie…’with a troubled brow’ …you can tell he’s not really happy being king. So, it’s time for him to go out and do battle.”

Malmberg seems to have full confidence on the project regardless with the fact that Schwarzenegger is nearing the age of 70:
“That’s what we hope. In fact Arnold – judging by other classic actors like Eastwood who’s in his 80s – still looks badass. I think if this film is good and is well received, then I don’t think we have to say ‘no’ to Arnold for several more movies. We can keep going forward, even after he ages.”

Malmberg also talked about the fantasy aspects of the project, and I am happy that this new movie seems to be more disciplined in terms of fantasy tone, consistent with John Milius' first Conan movie.
"With today’s production values, we can probably do a lot more with what they were doing way back then. I mean we have seen what Peter Jackson has done. I think of course this is probably more grounded and less fantastical with less creatures and CG monsters. We want to have some of that fantastical world but we don’t want it to become a complete fantasy because what really set Conan the Barbarian apart from all the other fantasy movies is that this feels like our prehistoric earth. Still, we want to make it full of splendor … It’s on the table and it’s a big studio picture and a big event movie. I wouldn’t rule it out but right now, all we’re concentrating on is the story. It’s a working machine with everyone and marketing people. The president over there at Universal Pictures is Jeffery Kirschenbaum, and he’s one of the top two executive producers and he has a huge position there at Universal and he’s always been a huge Conan fan. ‘I want to make Conan,’ he’s said many times. And it was Universal who launched the first film with Arnold. Now the constellation is aligning"