One film we're really stoked to see happen is KING CONAN, aka THE LEGEND OF CONAN, and we've been doing all we can to keep you informed on the status of the film, bringing you all the latest news as we hear it. A few months back we reported that Universal is still excited to see this film head in front of the cameras, and we certainly share their enthusiasm for the project. Now it seems that we're getting closer than ever to seeing KING CONAN happen, with our pals over at The Arnold Fans reporting that Andrea Berloff's script is very close to being finished and that producers are aiming for a Spring 2015 start of production.
Fredrik Malmberg, a producer of KING CONAN, shared that they were very pleased with Berloff's LEGEND OF CONAN script and now they're close to finishing up with a rewrite, stating…
"We want to polish up the script, specifically about the characters, but we don't think it will take long. We'll probably have this turned in around September after the holiday and then we'll take it to the studio and if they're happy, we can hopefully start (production) in the Spring (2015)."
If things can move that quickly for KING CONAN then this could be the film that follows Schwarzenegger's return to THE TERMINATOR franchise. Malmberg shares that they're wanting Conan's return to be the action stars follow-up to his TERMINATOR return, stating…
"That's the intention. Arnold wants that. I would like that and I know everyone from the studio side would like that but it's all in the script. We need to get the script where it's right and ready to go. In the movie world, nowadays, when a movie is a go movie, it happen very quickly. It's up to Universal to set the date for it to be released but personally, I don't think it has to be a summer movie. I think there's plenty of examples of big event movies being released in the winter like the Matrix movies and The Lord of the Rings. I can see this being a winter movie as well as a summer movie. This iconic role of Arnold as Conan is so big that it can be year round."
As for who will helm KING CONAN, Malmberg states that it's too early in the game to discuss directors, stating…
"We haven't been talking with directors yet. A lot of directors have come fourth and expressed interest and that they like Conan and want to be involved when we're at that stage but the studio said they want the script to be ready before we officially approach the directors. But we have been in touch with old great names 😉 and new fresh faces. We're excited about finding the right guy for that."
KING CONAN aka THE LEGEND OF CONAN could be heading into production early next year and is being produced by Fredrik Malmberg through Paradox Entertainment and Chris Morgan & Emile Gladstone through their Chris Morgan Productions. Andrea Berloff is on script duties.
Let's hope that the film can head in front of the cameras to be ready by the projected December 2015 date seen on the Cannes sales poster below. I say the sooner we have KING CONAN on the screen again, the better!