It's been 33 years since John Milius' sword and sorcery epic "Conan the Barbarian," but Universal Pictures is set to bring back Arnold Schwarzenegger in the titular role. A new report from TheArnoldFans indicate that the upcoming film, "The Legend of Conan," is not a reboot but a sequel to the 1982 original.
According to a report from Screen Rant, the script was originally penned by Chris Morgan and later revised by Andrea Berloff. The film will discard "Conan the Destroyer" and the 2011 reboot which starred Jason Momoa. "The Legend of Conan" will instead be a direct follow-up to the John Milius original.
Many fans also fear that the new film might have a light-tone similar to the "Fast & Furious" franchise, which Morgan previously worked on. The original 1982 film was Rated-R and the story of Conan, as seen in the original pulp fictions written by author Robert E. Howard, were mature pieces that may not work well when degraded to a PG-13 rating.
"A light-hearted Conan?! CROM! No," Morgan said. "Our tone is a logical extension of the character established in the '82 film...but 30 years later. When we meet him again, Conan has been many things over the course of his life — a thief, a warrior, a pirate, a king, a legend — and is now an older man. Think 'Unforgiven'...with a sword-wielding barbarian."
Morgan also teased that at least three of the old characters will return for the sequel. Fans are speculating if these would include the thief Subatai, played by Gerry Lopez, the Wolf Witch, played by Cassandra Gava, or a possible resurrection of Valeria, played by Sandahl Bergman.
There is still no director attached to the film and there is no confirmed release date as of the time of writing but Schwarzenegger said last year that "The Legend of Conan" would be his next project right after the release of "Terminator Genisys," which is scheduled to hit theaters this July 1.
