The long wait for a new Conan movie is finally ending. Arnold Schwarzenegger has officially announced that King Conan will begin production in 2027. The 78-year-old action star broke the news during a recent event, telling fans the project is “a reality now” after ten years of pushing Hollywood to make it happen.
Schwarzenegger first played the sword-wielding warrior in the 1982 cult classic Conan the Barbarian and returned for Conan the Destroyer in 1984. Now, more than four decades later, he is getting ready to step back into the role that helped launch his acting career.
“Next year we are going to do King Conan,” Schwarzenegger said. “That is a reality now, and I am excited about it.”
An Older, Weaker Conan Takes the Throne
This will not be the same young muscle-bound fighter from the 1980s movies. King Conan will show the character much later in life. The story follows an aging king who has ruled for 40 years and is no longer in his physical prime.
Schwarzenegger explained that the movie only works now because Conan needed to get older for the story to make sense.
“He is no longer in the shape he was from his heyday, and now people are trying to take him out,” the actor revealed. “He’s the king, and he gets a little bit complacent. He’s tired of the job and he wants to move on.”
The actor compared the new film to Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Western Unforgiven, where an aging outlaw takes on one last job. “It will be a lot like that, but it will be with extraordinary battles,” Schwarzenegger said.
Christopher McQuarrie to Write and Direct
Christopher McQuarrie, the filmmaker behind the four most recent Mission: Impossible movies, has been confirmed to write and direct King Conan. The film is being developed at 20th Century Studios, and producer Fredrik Malmberg from Conan Properties International confirmed that a deal is in place between all parties.
Schwarzenegger also shared that he wants John Milius, who directed the original 1982 Conan the Barbarian, to return as a producer on the sequel.
The actor said he spent a full decade pushing for the right creative team to handle the material. “For the last ten years I have been saying, ‘We should do King Conan and we should get a great script written, get someone who really understands Robert E. Howard, that understands the artwork of Frank Frazetta and to continue on,’” he said.
Preparation Has Already Started
Despite being 78 years old, Schwarzenegger is already getting ready to play the aging warrior. The actor said he continues to train twice a day, mixing weightlifting and cardio to build the energy needed for the role.
“Age means nothing to me. I feel like I did 30 years ago,” Schwarzenegger said according to French film magazine Première.
The movie is set to include large battle scenes, violence, magic, and creatures. Schwarzenegger promised the film will have “extraordinary battles” while keeping the darker, more serious tone of Unforgiven.
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What This Means for Schwarzenegger’s Other Movies
The King Conan announcement comes as Schwarzenegger revealed that studios have also approached him with new scripts for other classic movies from his career. He hinted that he might return to franchises including Predator and Commando.
But King Conan is the priority. The project has been discussed for years, with various directors and writers attached at different points. At one point, the plan was to make a Conan sequel with a younger actor, but Schwarzenegger stayed committed to returning as the older version of the character.
“The movie wouldn’t have worked after I did the first Conan because the whole idea of King Conan is that for 40 years he has been king, he is older now,” Schwarzenegger explained.
King Conan does not yet have an official release date. With filming set to begin in 2027, the movie will likely hit theaters in late 2027 or 2028.
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