Arnold Schwarzenegger is reviving 'Conan the Barbarian' with 'Mission: Impossible' filmmaker
Arnold Schwarzenegger is reviving 'Conan the Barbarian' with 'Mission: Impossible' filmmaker
Derek LawrenceMon, March 9, 2026 at 11:24 PM UTC
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Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'Conan the Barbarian' (1982)Credit: Dino De Laurentiis/Universal Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to be king...Conan.
Almost 45 years after starred in Conan the Barbarian, Schwarzenegger is officially picking up the sword again for King Conan, the upcoming third installment in the franchise, EW has confirmed. Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) is set to write and direct the film for 20th Century Studios.
McQuarrie has spent the last decade as Tom Cruise's partner-in-crime on the previous four Mission: Impossible movies, and King Conan will be his first non-Mission directorial effort since 2012's Jack Reacher.
Based on the work of author Robert E. Howard, the 1982 fantasy adventure Conan the Barbarian starred Schwarzenegger as the shirtless warrior hero. Co-written by Oliver Stone and directed by John Milius, the film was the big-screen breakout for the former bodybuilder, and a sequel, Conan the Destroyer, arrived in 1984, a few months before The Terminator.
Christopher McQuarrie; Arnold SchwarzeneggerCredit: Ayisha Collins/Getty; Rodin Eckenroth/Getty
Over the weekend, Schwarzenegger teased the idea of King Conan during a conversation at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.
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"It’s a great story where Conan was [king for] 40 years, and he gets complacent, and now he gets forced out of the kingdom, slowly," he said. "Then there’s conflict, and then he somehow comes back, and then there’s all kinds of madness and violence and magic and creatures. Now, of course, you have all the special effects, and the studio system has plenty of money to make those movies really big."
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At the same event, Schwarzenegger revealed that he's had conversations with Prey and Predator: Badlands filmmaker Dan Tratchenberg about returning to the Predator Universe.
Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone announced on Monday that he has signed on to produce the upcoming Rambo prequel. Jean-Claude Van Damme, you're now officially on the revival clock.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
