It looks like a new Conan film could begin later this year (pending the strike). We get news of the barbarian’s progress thanks to our Gunderland informants at Variety:
Nu Image/Millennium Films has made a North American distribution rights deal with Lionsgate for a new film series based on the Robert E. Howard-created character Conan the Barbarian.
The first film will be written by the team of Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (“Sahara,” “Cowboys & Aliens”).
I love Conan, he is surly, macho, fearless killing machine. Conan The Barbarian is one of my favorite films and I want to see as many movies about the character as possible before I die. Conan continues to live on in books, film, cartons and a soon to be released MMORPG. The character was created by Robert E. Howard in 1932 and should continue to outlive us all. He lives because we need him in our lives.
I am wary about the writers they have chosen for this project; they tapped the guys that brought us Sahara and A Sound Of Thunder. I did not see Sahara, but have not heard great things, and I now that A sound of Thunder was down right awful. I sincerely hope Donnelly and Oppenheimer buck this trend of crafting shit, because they are about to write the gospel according to macho. We have been waiting quite some time for another Conan film, and excellence is what we expect. If they fuck this up – I will eat their pets in front of them!
Conan news has been flying around for years now, this news, like the news before it may lead nowhere. But with writers on board and two studios involved, it looks like we could be marching onward to Hyboria by next snowfall.