Caffeinated Clint
How times have changed.
Twenty-five years ago Arnold Schwarzenegger was bigger than any movie or brand – in fact, he was the brand.
“Total Recall” wasn’t about Doug Quaid, just as the “Terminator” sequels weren’t about John Connor’s minder. And “Junior” surely wasn’t about anything other than… what was that about!? They were all about Schwarzenegger. Arnold. Ah-Nuld. The Oak. The big guy. The last action hero. He was what people were going to see – and between 1987 and 1997 his attachment could pretty much get any studio opening their wallet to make a project happen.
These days though, what with his age (71) and mixed response at the box-office (in anything other than a “Terminator” movie), Schwarzenegger doesn’t have the pull with the studios as he use to. And it’s a shame – because he’s still frickin’ fantastic and, as my fellow action buffs will attest, still got the goods. If “Twins 2” was something the Austrian thesp had wanted to do in 1991, it’d have been immediately greenlit, but in 2019, Universal are still seemingly mixed on whether they think the movie is a good idea or not – having spent several years now ‘considering’ it. Same deal with a “Running Man” sequel, which Schwarzenegger was all for. Never got past the idea stage because he, and his fans, were the only ones championing it.
One film that’s been on Schwarzenegger’s to-do list since, well, about the time we all moved off dial-up is “King Conan” – or “The Legend of Conan” as it’s also been referred – a third in the series of “Conan the Barbarian” films. In it, Schwarzenegger would play an older incarnation of his one of earliest but most popular roles. The script has been locked for years, a director has reportedly been set just as long, and Schwarzenegger agreed to do the project from the moment that project was first floated to him.
What a movie this would be! A huge, fantastical swords n’ sandals epic with oiled-up muscle-men yielding swords and beating down enemies… and yet, the studio just don’t see it.
In 2017, Chris Morgan – one of the many writers who’ve worked on the project – said Universal weren’t sold on the new “Conan”.
“At the end of the day, the studio decided that they weren’t gonna make that. I gotta say, it’s honestly a heartbreak. I love that first movie so much, it’s one of my favorite movies. We had Will Beall do a draft on [the Legend of Conan script]. He killed it.”
Morgan continued, “Our take was Conan, 30 years later, a story like the Clint Eastwood Unforgiven. It was so awesome. Ultimately, the budget was big, the studio was not really sure of the title, and the relevance in the marketplace. They ended up letting it go. I think they’re gonna look to do a TV show or something with it. But just to be associated with it, pitch it to Arnold, have him get so excited, there was a moment of magic for me, personally [laughs]. You never know, down the road we may revisit!”
Today on Twitter, Schwarzenegger again reiterated his interest in the project. He was plugging a new Conan comic book, and mentioned at the end “It’s a movie that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Let’s do it”.
Conan is back. I was so pumped to get this new special edition comic book. They’ll be available at the @ArnoldSports or you can get yours now.: https://t.co/s5DzorEITd pic.twitter.com/UXbC3ZOUj9
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) February 11, 2019
The script, Schwarzenegger said a while back, focuses on “Conan the Conqueror, where I’m sitting on the throne for years and years, decades, and then all of the sudden, the time comes when they want to overthrow me.”
It sounds gold. Best case scenario? The new “Terminator” movie, releasing at the end of the year, makes a gazillion bucks and wins Arnold raves, and Universal finally find the confidence to press the go button on “Conan”.
