When Arnold Schwarzenegger says I'll be back, you should know by now that he damn well means it. Thirty years after his 1982 role in the blockbuster Conan the Barbarian, the 65-year-old action movie icon will return to his original role in The Legend of Conan. According to Deadline.com, Universal Pictures is behind the highly anticipated flick, and plans to release it in the summer of 2014.
As many of you already know, Arnold starred in a total of two Conan movies—1982's Conan the Barbarian and in 1984's Conan the Destroyer—but did you know the character was picked up for a third major motion picture in 2011—only that one used Jason Momoa as the title character instead of Arnold. It also happened to be a box office bust.
No offense to Jason, but there's only one Conan the Barbarian. "I think I was kind of meant for playing Conan, you know?" Arnold was quoted as saying back in the early '80s. "I think that I felt very comfortable playing that character, playing that barbaric role, doing all the sword fighting, and it was a very physical film. This is the great thing about doing films. First of all, you learn new things — sword-fighting or horseback riding and all those things—and at the same time you play like a little child, you can play like cowboy and Indian type of things, you know, looking for the enemy and crushing them and knocking them down." Ah, you gotta love Arnold.
For those die-hard Arnold fans who have seen all his movies, you'll likely recall that "Conan the Barbarian" ended with Schwarzenegger on the throne as a mighty warrior. According to producer Fredrik Malmberg, this is where the new film picks up. "It's that Nordic Viking mythic guy who has played the role of king, warrior, soldier and mercenary, and who has bedded more women than anyone, nearing the last cycle of his life. He knows he'll be going to Valhalla, and wants to go out with a good battle."
So what does Arnold think about portraying the iconic character that helped launch his movie career 30 years ago?
"I always loved the Conan character and I'm honored to be asked to step into the role once again. I can't wait to work with Universal and the great team of Fredrik Malmberg and Christopher Morgan to develop the next step of this truly epic story." No doubt your fans can't wait either.
In the meantime, check out the original Conan trailer from back in the day.
