Conan the Barbarian has been the subject of multiple films, television, and video game projects since debuting in the series of fantasy stories by pulp fiction author Robert E. Howard. Decades after Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayed the character in 1982's Conan the Barbarian, the sword and sorcery hero will return to the screen in a live-action television series being developed by Netflix.
The Conan the Barbarian series is the first project in a deal between Netflix and Conan Properties International, the company owned by Fredrik Malmberg's Cabinet Entertainment. Under the terms of the deal, Netflix has the exclusive option to acquire the rights to the library of written Conan works to develop live-action and animated projects for film and television.
Deadline reports Malmberg and Mark Wheeler will serve as executive producers on the Conan series through their Pathfinder Media. The search for a showrunner to pen scripts for the series and a director to helm episodes is currently underway. Netflix's decision to put the Conan series into the development is just the latest addition to the streaming service's growling list of projects based on literary characters. Previously acquired IP include Roald Dahl's novels, C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia stories, and Mark Millar's Millarworld comics.
Howard's series of Conan the Barbarian stories were first published in Weird Tales magazine in 1932 and followed the warrior's exploits in the fictional time period known as the Hyborian Age. In addition to the aforementioned Schwarzenegger film and its sequel, Conan the Destroyer, the character was the subject of a 2011 reboot in which Aquaman star Jason Momoa portrayed the title role. The character would also be depicted on television in the animated shows Conan the Adventurer and Conan and the Young Warriors while a live-action Adventurer series would begin a short-lived run in 1997.
Considering the terms of Netflix's deal with Conan Properties International, the Conan series could be the first of multiple projects set in the same universe. While Conan may not have as much of a screen presence as he did in the past, the character has proven to be popular in Marvel Comics after the company regained the comic publishing rights to the character.
Now, the fan-casting for Conan will likely begin, setting up expectations for the role even before a showrunner has been selected. Still, it may be hard for fans of the character to imagine anyone besides Schwarzenegger in the iconic role.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan the Barbarian is now available on Netflix.
Source: Deadline