One of the things I enjoyed most from my entire time at Ain't It Cool News was when we reached story #10,000 and I decided to do something special. I wrote a piece about what was at that point my most anticipated potential project, a collaboration between the Wachowskis and John Milius, King Conan: Crown Of Iron, a sequel to what I still consider one of the best films Arnold Schwarzenegger ever made.
That was still before Schwarzenegger disappeared into political office for a while, and well before his comeback. So far, I've enjoyed some of the original films he's done since his return like The Last Stand and Sabotage, but I can't say I'm enjoying his sequel work. I thought Terminator Genisys was genuinely dire, and I don't like any of the Expendables movies. I hate the idea of Triplets, which Josh Gad is writing and which sounds like it's still in development. It makes me nervous to hear Arnold still promising to make another Conan movie, but I'd love to believe that a return to that world with Arnold playing the character who has long since outlived anyone's reasonable expectations for a barbarian. After all, the end of the original Milius film promised that Conan would live long enough for there to be plenty of stories that could be told about him.
Several writers have worked on the film, including Andrea Berloff, Will Beall, and the primary architect of the Fast & Furious series, Chris Morgan. According to Schwarzenegger at an appearance at a fan event this week, there is a new title for the film, and they are still looking to enter production soon. We've heard this before, though, and while I've spoken to producer Frederick Malmberg in the past and I believe his passion for getting a new Conan off the ground, I'm not sure I buy it's really happening until we see images from what is now reportedly called Conan The Conquerer.
I don't know… is this really what we want from our aging action icons? Endless returns to their former glories? Or is this a sign of just how little dignity there is being a 70 year old action star?
You tell me… do you still want to see Conan on the throne and gearing up for battle again, or does this sound like another nostalgia no-no?