New Conan movie + Ratner= ??

[CrazyFrog]

Tell me what YOU think. And yes, this has been confirmed.

And I love the Dark Horse series that had Busiek/Nord on it. Good stuff, very recommended.

Now, I'm crushed.

[froffeecoffee]

I've read the script is fantastic. The hope is that it's so good that even Ratner couldn't screw it up. Somehow I doubt it.

At least we won't have to endure Beverly Hills Cop 4, which he was planning on directing till he got the Conan movie.

[venoms5]

This has been in the planning stages for several years now. Originally Milius was involved and wanted (of all people) triple H as Conan. Then Milius was out and Rodriguez was on board and he was supposedly courting Schwarzenegger to come back in some capacity. I'd much rather see Schwarzenegger back then a water spewing barbarian portrayal by Levesque.

[CrazyFrog]

You know, as iconic as Schwarzenegger was in the original, it just didn't quite make it for me. I mean the movie as a whole. But it would be cool to see Arnold as some warrior-king type persona in the new movie.

The worst thing about having Ratner on board for this series is not that I think it will be horribly bad but rather just mediocre with no originality whatsoever. That is worse than being ambitiously bad in my book. And I am also fearing some wisecrack-spewing sidekick they'll make up for Conan just for these movies. Ratner is a competent director but that's it. And a story like Conan needs someone more visionary. Milius took a decent stab at it, at least in Conan the Barbarian but we've seen the fantasy bar set a lot higher in recent years (LOTR, 300 if you must) and this deserves better.

[Tosh]

Jesus Christ Hollywad just makes me sicker and sicker, first Oldboy/Speilburg/Smith now Ratner and Conan??? Could they possibly name a worse director to the project? Ah yes they could I guess, I wouldn't be surprised if Uwe Boll winds up directing.

[Way of the Dragon]

omg! I cant believe this!

[froffeecoffee]

It seems Ratner plans on doing Beverly Hills Cop 4 first. Producer Avi Lerner apparently spoke too soon about Ratner doing Conan. It seems he'll direct only if they agree on a budget, special effects, and where they'll shoot.

Also, Ratner himself is not totally committed to it yet. For now it is only a developmental deal and was agitated that Lerner made the announcement.

So we maybe able to breathe a little easier for now.

[KUNG FU BOB]

I won't breathe easier until Conan chops Ratner's skull off and hurls it down the temple steps.

[CrazyFrog]

That would be a great way to start the new movie!

[Nakadai]

I've always wanted to see Conan the King, oh well. And Ratner? I can't stomach that conceded asshole what soever. Finally decided to give Rush Hour 3 a go over the weekend, and couldn't even get past the first 30 minutes. Grossness all around.

[Chinatown Kid]

With Ratner directing maybe we will have Chris Tucker as Conan, he could borrow Flava Flave's horn helment.

[The Dragon]

With Ratner directing maybe we will have Chris Tucker as Conan, he could borrow Flava Flave's horn helment.

:D Great.

[HyperDrive]

This is looking like another Kull the Conqueror all the time.

[CrazyFrog]

Minor update: looks like Ratner hasn't officially signed on yet and claims he's not 100% on board yet. Is it still too late to bring Rob Zombie on board?

[froffeecoffee]

Brett Ratner is officially off the Conan movie. Thank goodness. Now maybe they can get a competent director who knows what he's doing.

[KUNG FU BOB]

"You killed my Muddah. You killed my Faddah! But at least Ratna won't kill da Conan series!" XD

[Tosh]

By Crom thank the gods Ratner is off this.

Fuck Aaaaaanold, steriod hack, the guy never could act.

Still with Hollywoods recent track record I won't hold my breath on this one, hence why Milius wont be on it. I have a feeling it will be more towards Conan the Conquer, shame.

[daisho2004]

To me Arnold was the Man as Conan! I didn't like the 2nd. film all that much except for the 1st. fight scene Arnold looked awesome. So I really am looking forward to seeing a new Conan Movie but it has to be dark because I was following The Savage Sword of Conan Comics and those were awesome! So I don't want to see a comedy like The Scorpion King type of movie which I did enjoy but I want a dark violent movie!

[Tosh]

Well said Daisho, Arnold was perfect for the CONAN role. Originally they wanted to make lots of sequels, but the plan fell through.

Could of put any steriod monster in that role and they would of been good, hell the archer in the first movie was a pro surfer, Milius knew he had some nonactors, that's why he kept the main dialog for the actors that could act like James Earl Jones and Max Von Sydow. The rest is a lot of grunting and snorting.

After the 2nd movie I'm glad they didn't make another one (though damn the princess was hot), Arnold thinks the terminator made his career, he turned his back on the Conan role a long time ago.

[daisho2004]

Tosh I have to disagree with you on this one Arnold was the right Man to fill the role! He was the perfect fit just like from the Comics true other Actors might have been descent but nobody could replace Arnold and Conan didn't need a lot of dialogue to get his point across!

[AlbertV]

Latest Update: James McTeigue, the director of V FOR VENDETTA and the upcoming NINJA ASSASSIN, is currently IN TALKS to direct the movie.

[Tosh]

Well I think Arnold was good for the part but think he's overrated, I think it was his naiveness that worked in his benifit along with Jerry Lopez as Subotai.

Don't get me wrong the first Conan is one of my all time favorites, I just think Arnold get's to much credit for it, Milius was the genius that made it all work.

Plus we need more pit fighting in movies, the one with Jet Li was... Lame...

[froffeecoffee]

Other names being considered to direct are Christopher Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf), Neil Marshall (The Descent), and Marcus Dispel (Friday the 13th remake). Gans and Marshall would be great choices. Both have shown they can do strong character work with action. Dispel is adequate, but nothing to get excited about.

[dionbrother]

Always thought the Arnold Conans sucked canal water. Lil' Abner vs the Moonies. When I read Robert Howard's original stories, I envision a Sam Peckinpah meets Mario Bava approach. Not Milius' bombastic peplum. Conan isn't a bodybuilder, he's more of a tough, quick, country boy. If they'd made a Conan movie in the 1960s, Clint Walker would've been the perfect Conan. Hope they get it right this time.

[DAJIZZARIZZA]

i don't understand what you guys are saying when you say Arnold was a terrible actor and gave no dialog ?

what was a BARBARIAN ? he was supose to be stupid,.. not gifted with dialog (uneducated) just mainly a man of war ,.. he delivered !

i'm not a Arnold Swartzenager fan (hope i spelled it correctly,..lol) but he gave a great preformance as a big dumb ape looking for revenge.

he got the job done,.. i enjoyed both movies .

so people please understand conan would had been a joke if he was a harvard grad with an english accent,a top hat an a monocle ..lol:p

[dionbrother]

Saw CONAN on opening weekend with my dad in 1982. Nobody was cheering. The audience was bored to tears. The movie drags on the big screen. Most of its reputation is based on endless cable airings in the 80s. It was considered a disappointment at the box office, which is why DESTROYER was a PG rated move. Believe it or not, THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER(which beat CONAN to the theaters by at least two months) was a more profitable movie!

Conan is not a lumbering oaf in the stories. He's more like a young Jack Palance character, cunning, quick and tough. Arnold didn't have a real hit until THE TERMINATOR. And really didn't develop his screen presence for a few years.

[daisho2004]

http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/columns/ketchup/roland_kickinger.jpg

#1 THE NEW CONAN HAS BEEN FOUND, AND HE'S A LOT LIKE THE OLD ONE

Lionsgate and Nu Image/Millennium have apparently settled upon their choice for the star of the new Conan movie, and he bears a lot of similarities to the original movie Conan, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Roland Kickinger is a 41 year old Austrian bodybuilder-turned-actor, whereas Arnold Schwarzenegger was a 35 year old Austrian bodybuilder-turned-actor when he starred in 1982's Conan the Barbarian. Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in the first three Terminator movies, and Roland Kickinger played a T-800 robot in Terminator: Salvation. Also, Roland Kickinger actually played Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2005 A&E made-for-cable biopic See Arnold Run. The casting of Roland Kickinger seems to be an attempt to hew as closely to Schwarzenegger's films as possible. Hopefully this reboot will attempt to bring in more elements of the awesome sword & sorcery lore and mythology of Robert E. Howard's original stories (though many fans feel the movies were quite unfaithful to Howard's stories). Filming of Conan begins in the fall of 2009 in Bulgaria, and will be directed by Marcus Nispel (the remakes of Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) from a script by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (cowriters of Sahara and A Sound of Thunder). The Hollywood Reporter ends their article with a zinger that I have to repeat: "No word on whether Arnold will make a cameo -- or on whether Kickinger will run for governor.