The Legend of Conan May Launch Cinematic Universe

It had to happen - a producer on the upcoming ‘The Legend of Conan’ has implied the long overdue sequel may lead to a new cinematic universe.

Speaking to Deadline, producer Fredrik Malmberg reveals that his company Cabinet Entertainment has acquired the rights to not only Conan, but the entire back catalogue of legendary writer Robert E Howard, including such other characters as Solomon Kane and Kull the Conqueror.

Should this relaunch of Conan prove a success, it may well open the floodgates to a slew of new movies set in the days of high adventure.

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Malmberg says, “These days, it comes down to brands and characters and we are looking at long-term possibilities. We look at how Marvel played out with its rich based of characters, and this too is a universe that lends itself to exploitation in TV and film. There aren’t many libraries like this.”

The producer also has every faith in his leading man Arnold Schwarzenegger, citing the veteran action star’s unexpectedly acclaimed performance in zombie drama ‘Maggie’ as evidence of his maturity as a dramatic actor.

“It’s 30 years after the original film, and [Conan]’s facing his mortality and how a legend deals with the fact he’s older, and how does he want to go out,”

It is of course inevitable that any property with brand name recognition like Conan would prompt talk of a cinematic universe. This, it seems, is just the done thing now since the success of Marvel, whose comic book rivals DC are hot on their heels with a slew of overlapping movies lined up. Universal have similar ideas for their classic monster movie properties, Sony intend to expand on Ghosbusters, and Paramount and Dreamworks recently revealed plans to broaden their Transformers story world.

Of course, box office success for Conan is by no means a foregone conclusion. It’s only four years since the character was last attempted on screen, in director Marcus Nispel’s ‘Conan the Barbarian’ reboot with Jason Momoa in the title role, which was itself planned as a franchise-starter.

This writer for one would argue the 2011 film was unfairly overlooked: it’s a simple but enjoyable throwback to the days when sword and sorcery wasn’t just for kids. Even so, it failed to make its mark at the box office, and so sequel plans went out the window.

Still, one would hope having Schwarzenegger back in one of his most iconic roles would hopefully bode well for ‘The Legend of Conan’ winning over audiences - and if they are following a similar plotline to the ‘King Conan’ film that was in development in the early 2000s before being cancelled after the star’s move into politics, there may also be a role for a son of Conan, who might feasibly lead follow-up movies.

We might note that Malmberg does not have the rights to one character often classed as a Robert E Howard creation, Red Sonja: though loosely modelled on a Howard character, the warrior woman was in fact introduced in Marvel’s Conan comic in the 1970s, and a new movie based around this character is reportedly in the works at Nu Image and Millennium Films.

No director has been announced yet for ‘The Legend of Conan,’ but Schwarzenegger is confirmed to star with Malmberg and Chris Morgan producing, and a screenplay from  Andrea Berloff and Will Beall.

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Picture Credit: Universal/20th Century Fox, Lionsgate