'LEGEND OF CONAN' Producer Gives An Update And Will They Ask Paul Verhoeven To Direct?

Universal has been developing a new sequel to Conan The Barbarian with Arnold Schwarzenegger set to reprise the titular role. The film titled Legend of Conan is a direct sequel to the original film and is said to ignore the last two terrible films.

It's a new trend in Hollywood to scrap lesser films from canon and focus on the good ones, Paramount doing it the same with Terminator: Genisys which is another Arnold franchise getting resurrected.

In this case it's a good thing since Conan The Barbarian is easily the peek of the fantasy genre and having new material as it's direct offspring isn't a terrible thing. Barbarian's fingerprints can be seen in almost every fantasy film made since including Peter Jackson's Middle-Earth saga.

Producer Chris Morgan, who you might know from The Fast And Furious franchise and Wanted is currently one of the creative producers on Universal's Legend of Conan. Morgan spoke to Empire Magazine about the current direction of the film along with the script which was originally written by Straight Outta Compton's Andrea Berloff and now getting rewrites from Gangster Squad's Will Beall.

"Andrea Berloff [Straight Outta Compton] did a draft," Morgan reminds us, "and then we had Will step on. I approached him early on in the process, but at the time he was unavailable and couldn’t do it. But then a couple of weeks after he passed on the project I got this package from him in the mail, and I opened it and it was a Conan sword, and on the envelope it said, ‘This you can trust!’ So when he called back a while later said he’d had a slot open up, we slammed him in immediately. He’s just perfect for it; he loves it as much as I do and he has a great voice of Conan. It just makes you happy!"

"We look at all the source material and we love things that kind of speak to that tone. We’re incredibly respectful to Howard. I’m a huge fan of the stories and books, but I’m a super-huge fan of the first movie, because that crystallised and distilled it all for me. Milius just killed it. He did such a good job. And Legend Of Conan is really resonant and it really digs into the legacy of that original film. I'm already very proud of it."

This new update combined with talk that the studio is aiming for a production start in the spring could mean the sequel is indeed coming together. Arnold was saying they were possibly looking to shoot it in New Zealand with the help of the team at Weta, hopefully that isn't just cigar smoke he's blowing at us.

"[Universal] finally came forward and said, 'You're absolutely right. The previous regime has missed the boat here. We want to pick it up. We're going to buy the rights and we're going to be serious about it and make a quality film with an A-director and with A-writers and so on. And we want you to participate in this. We want you to star and you to play Conan. We're going to take a story where Conan is at that age so it's totally believable and you're not looking like a 30-year old action guy."

Arnold and Paul taking a break on the set of Total Recall.

As for a director there had been some interest from Paul Verhoeven (Black Book, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Robocop) to make the project when asked about it back in early 2013 via Arnold Fans. At the time a script didn't exist to show the director but it's starting to sound like they might be able to at least meet with Veroheven.

"If they asked me, I’d certainly love to – let’s put it that way," he says. "But I don’t know what the script is. I don’t know what Arnold wants. I’m a big fan in fact of Conan. That’s a great movie and I found that the composer, Basil Poledouris, basically inspired many of my movies [the soundtracks] like Flesh and Blood, RoboCop, Starship Troopers and Total Recall. The score of Conan is great. The style of editing that Milius used was very beautiful, and Arnold does a great job. He was really the perfect choice."

Paul and Arnold worked together on the iconic 80s sci-fi action flick Total Recall previously. They almost re-teamed for Paul's movie Crusade which would have been another violent sword-swinging action flick. I imagine this could easily be a way to make-up for that project never coming together.

Hollywood has since been remaking most of Paul's films including Recall and Robocop, there is even a Starship Troopers remake in the works he might as well return to show these fools hows it's really done.

Verhoeven is currently shooting the dark thriller Elle which could be finished principal photography in the next couple of months. I'm unsure what his post-production process is but if he does leave the film in the hands of an editor he could be able to start pre-production soon after. The film not really having special effects it's turn-around shouldn't be too time consuming.

Then again, they could easily push the production start a couple of months to allow Paul to finish post before jumping into pre-production on Legend.

Schwarzenegger and Milius on Conan set.

Although, back in October Arnold Fans, who also gave us those Verhoeven quotes heard from Francis Ford Coppola about John Milius being able-bodied to direct the new film.

We should point-out that John hasn't made a film since 1997 and recently suffered a stroke. Aspects that could make Universal a bit nervous about hiring the director for such a large and costly production.

Milius famously wrote Apocalypse Now for Coppola along with Conan, Red Dawn, Dirty Harry and produced the HBO series Rome. It wouldn't make sense to have him direct the film without him contributing to the actual script since being one of the most accomplished Hollywood writers, so I'm hesitant for all these reasons to believe Milius is returning.

SOURCE: EMPIRE

Writers Ed Solomon And Noah Hawley Hired For Unnamed Universal Monster Movies

Universal is moving forward world-building their horror universe with their iconic Universal Monsters. Dracula, The Mummy and The Wolfman are already set for the franchise. Dracula played by Luke Evans has already come and gone with Dracula Untold, and will be seen in other films in the future. The Mummy directed by Alex Kurtzman is about to head into production, and The Wolfman has a writer with Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners).

THR has even more news concerning more writers joining the universe. As Ed Solomon and Noah Hawley have been tasked to write for unnamed projects for the studio. Solomon is best known for his work on Men In Black and Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure. Ed also recently worked on Now You See Me and was planning on doing rewrites on Alex Kurtzman's Venom movie at Sony. It's possible that Ed is working on The Mummy because of working with Alex previously, or it's something else entirely. Fargo writer Noah Hawely is also in the mix and seems like a good fit for these films.

The other films in the works include The Invisible Man, Van Helsing, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. We know that Guillermo del Toro has sort of reserved Frankenstein for himself, I would also assume he would want more control over the script as well. Since it's passion project for the filmmaker, I assume it'll be next for him after he completes production of Pacific Rim 2.

The Invisible Man seems like the next logical project to move forward with. Since, the studio will likely wait for del Toro to direct Frankenstein and you need that go first before Bride happens. I feel like with Noah Hawely's background on Bones and Fargo, it might be a dark character that he can write for extremely well.

Oddly enough, Guillermo was also interested in making a new Val Helsing film with Tom Cruise in the lead role. That seemed to be a bit more interesting, and I wouldn't be too shocked if this how we get our modern Dracula film. I don't doubt that this could be good stomping grounds for Solomon, interchanging hunting aliens for monsters wouldn't be too hard for him.

Luke Evans is indeed set to return for more films as tortured vampire, and it was confirmed via a button scene at the end of Dracula Untold with Evans in modern London. He could also bleed over to The Mummy and The Wolfman as well, becoming the monster that connects all the films.


SOURCE: THR

Paul Verhoeven Open To Direct THE LEGEND OF CONAN Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger

TheArnoldFans were able to speak with legendary action director Paul Verhoeven (Starship Troopers, Robocop, Black Book, Flesh+Blood) and if he'd want a crack at direct Legend of Conan. It's shocking that Universal or Arnold haven't contacted him yet. The project could see Paul re-teaming with Schwarzenegger previously making the original Total Recall. Verhoeven seems optimistic if they offered it to him. Many consider Verhoeven a pioneer of the 80's action genre bringing in a element of satire to his extremely violent projects. Ending up with films that are still considered classics in the sci-fi action genre. If anyone could re-capture the magic of the Conan The Barbarian it would be Verhoeven. Arnold has recently revealed the studio is looking to shoot in New Zealand (possibly by the end of the year) and could have Weta Workshop involved in the production.

"If they asked me, I’d certainly love to – let’s put it that way," he says. "But I don’t know what the script is. I don’t know what Arnold wants. I’m a big fan in fact of Conan. That’s a great movie and I found that the composer, Basil Poledouris, basically inspired many of my movies [the soundtracks] like Flesh and Blood, RoboCop, Starship Troopers and Total Recall. The score of Conan is great. The style of editing that Milius used was very beautiful, and Arnold does a great job. He was really the perfect choice."

Arnold Schwarzenegger Will Play Conan Again In THE LEGEND OF CONAN

By Crom! Deadline reports that Universal is set on rebooting the Conan franchise one more time. However, they'll be brining back Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the title role in The Legend of Conan. The new project being a direct sequel to the original 1982 film and is aiming for a Summer 2014 release date. It's interesting as the end of the first movie showed an aged Conan sitting upon his throne. It could be a very excellent way to continue the franchise if they do it properly this time around. Personally, I'd be fine if Arnie only resurrected his role of Conan and staying away from Terminator 5.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is BACK

Now that the Governor is done heading budget meetings, many sources say he’s officially considering offers. What could this mean? When taking into account his recent cameos in Terminator 4 (virtual) and The Expendables it’s more than possible that he could be starting his comeback in their upcoming sequels. It’s already been reported that Expendables 2 is making major additions to the casting list by the possible addition of Jean Claude Van Damme and expanding Bruce Willis’ previous cameo to a major role. Also MTV reports that Universal Studios is strongly considering handing the Terminator franchise to director Justin Lin and screenwriter Chris Morgan. The combo is currently handling the “Fast and Furious” franchise. Their newest installment “Fast Five” (the fifth movie of the franchise) is basically a big reunion of characters from the previous four films. It’s a loose potential comparison but when considering that casting assemblage, if Justin Lin and Chris Morgan take over the Terminator Franchise, the Governor might make a “real” appearance in the near future.