Conan grimaces and rides in some new pics from the movie

One word instantly came to mind when I first saw that picture above: Dio.

I don’t know how much of Marcus Nispel’s CONAN will resemble a heavy metal album cover, but I think I need to see it in motion before I can finally decide how well beefy new star Jason Momoa is suited to play Robert E. Howard’s infamous Cimmerian. The sword-swinging death machine will probably have a sizeable presence at Comic Con, so we should hear some real buzz then. For now, some pics.

The movie finds the notorious warrior wandering the Hyborian Age, battling a ruler (Stephen Lang) who seeks a queen whose blood will bring life to the demonic minions of a long-lost god.