Arnold Schwarzenegger Rules As ‘King Conan’ With Christopher McQuarrie

BusinessHollywood & EntertainmentArnold Schwarzenegger Rules As ‘King Conan’ With Christopher McQuarrieByMark Hughes,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Mark Hughes is an entertainment writer covering cinema and genre TV.Follow AuthorMay 31, 2026, 12:49pm EDTMay 31, 2026, 12:51pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Arnold Schwarzenegger will rule again in King Conan, a long-awaited sequel to the blockbuster Conan The Barbarian franchise that made him a star. Christopher McQuarrie writes and directs, and Schwarzenegger confirms filming should start later this year.Author Mark Hughes' personal copy of "Savage Sword of Conan" comic magazine issue #1.Source: Photograph by Mark HughesConan The Barbarian By The NumbersConan The Barbarian scored box office gold when it hit theaters in 1982. Fantasy films were flying high at the time, but while comparable releases like The Sword and the Sorcerer and The Beastmaster sported budgets of $4 million and $9 million, respectively, Conan enjoyed a whopping $20 million budget and major studio distribution plus marketing.The film has a grandeur and scale, a vision and sense of a world that existed long before we showed up to witness it, that few other fantasy releases of the era managed to match – Dragonslayer, Time Bandits, Clash of the Titans, and of course the masterpiece Excalibur being among them. Audiences were thrilled and Conan became a $70+ million global hit.A follow up was quickly greenlit, filmed, and released in 1984 Conan The Destroyer simply lacked the magic and ambition of the original, feeling light and camp instead of serious and epic. The result was a disappointment that ended the franchise, for many reasons but not least of which was the choice to try to appeal to a broader family audience with a PG approach instead of the adult-oriented R-rated vision of the first...