Netflix is about to enter the Hyborian age. According to a recent report by Deadline Hollywood The streaming giant is in talks with Pathfinder media and Fredrik Malmberg’s Cabinet Entertainment to bring Robert E. Howard’s classic character Conan The Barbarian to a new generation being the first of a new shared universe based on the Cimmerian’s adventures for film, tv, and animation The project is currently out to writers/Showrunners.
Conan the Barbarian was first published in 1931. Howard’s Conan bibliography spanned 21 stories, later being carried on in a variety of mediums from a series of novels by Robert Jordan in the nineties to more recently in the comics, with acclaimed writer Jason Aaron. Most Famously. of course, Conan was brought to life on the big screen by Arnold Schwazeggar in 1982’s Conan The Barbarian and 1984’s Conan The Destroyer. AN AGE I’VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF!
Since I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iterations on DVD (and subsequently re-watching the special features repeatedly. I was super excited when I found out Stargate Atlantis and Game of Thrones alum Jason Momoa was going to star in a new film alongside Avatar’s Stephen Lang and Star Trek’s Rachel Nichols. Yes, that film was less than successful, but I still enjoyed Momoa’s take on the character and was disappointed that Momoa’s ambitions for the character didn’t bear fruit, especially since the actor had written a sequel to the film. However, that wasn’t the end of Conan’s endeavors on the big screen as the long-awaited third and final Arnold chapter entitled Legend of Conan had been announced with Fast and Furious writer Chris Morgan attached to the project. Unfortunately, what was being touted as “Conan’s Unforgiven” never happened, ultimately leaving the franchise in limbo once again. To me, a Conan television series is the perfect vehicle for the franchise going forward. Each of Howard’s stories conceivably fitting into the 1-hour mold of a Netflix series. As for the prospective showrunner, It would be great if they got Morgan back in the fold here, but my gut tells me that somebody from Game of Thrones will be involved. Here’s hoping they find a great actor to inhabit the iconic character.
More information can be found on the official Conan the Barbarian website.
