There’s been talk of Arnold Schwarzenegger returning to play Conan for quite awhile now, and according to an interview with the producers of that sequel — currently titled The Legend of Conan — production could begin as early as next spring.
“We’ll probably have this turned in around September after the holiday,” producer Fredrik Malmberg told The Arnold Fans website. “And then we’ll take it to the studio and if they’re happy, we can hopefully start in the Spring [of 2015].”
After the initial announcement of the project almost two years ago, The Legend of Conan has taken a back-burner to several other films in Schwarzenegger’s post-gubernatorial Hollywood career. If things go as planned, however, The Legend of Conan will likely be next up for the actor after the upcoming Terminator: Genesis.
“Arnold wants that. I would like that and I know everyone from the studio side would like that but it’s all in the script,” said Malmberg. “We need to get the script where it’s right and ready to go. In the movie world, nowadays, when a movie is a go movie, it happens very quickly.”
The last update on the film had World Trade Center screenwriter Andrea Berloff working on the script for the film, which will completely ignore 1984’s Conan the Destroyer and the 2011 Conan the Barbarian film that cast Jason Momoa in the title role. Malmberg said a script polish is expected soon, and then they can begin the search for directors. Once those two elements are settled, they’ll have a better idea of the timeframe for the film’s release.
“It’s up to Universal to set the date for it to be released but personally, I don’t think it has to be a summer movie,” he said. “I think there’s plenty of examples of big event movies being released in the winter like the Matrix movies and The Lord of the Rings. I can see this being a winter movie as well as a summer movie. This iconic role of Arnold as Conan is so big that it can be year round.”
Given the current status of the project, a 2016 premiere is likely the earliest that The Legend of Conan will hit theaters — though that could change if things suddenly begin moving along at a quicker pace.
