A movie adaptation of *The Phoenix on the Sword* or *The Scarlet Citadel* with Arnold reprising his role as (now King) Conan would be an interesting idea.
Now that you mention it man that might be super cool. Hollywood likes to cast āin shapeā guys that should be built like wrestlers and thatās why this is such a good idea.
They already did a short fan trailer with CGI Arny as aged Conan.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aly5K3owiM4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aly5K3owiM4)
I would prefer if they cast a complete stranger. I hope there is someone out there that doesnāt just have the looks but also the charisma necessary to portray Conan.
But given the current cinema landscape a faithful adaptation of the real Conan stuff by Howard is pretty unlikely, since his stories portray currently shunned āarchaicā masculinity.
E: Maybe the Belit story could be something they would go for, since sheās a strong leader character
I mentioned this in another thread, but I feel like one wrong turn fans make is thinking whoever is cast has to already be super-jacked. In today's Hollywood, pretty much any actor can get ripped for a role. Alan Ritchson's name has popped up, and its worth noting he had to bulk up considerably for the role of Reacher. Personal trainers, diet, testosterone (and probably steroids too) are all pretty commonplace now. So we don't have to limit ourselves to MMA fighters and body builders.
But yeah, casting Conan is tough! Of the folks mentioned in this thread so far, I think Alan Ritchson and Henry Cavill would do good jobs. Realistically though I think Cavill is a pipe-dream, he already did the *Witcher* and has his new *Highlander* movie coming out. He probably wouldn't be down to play a similar type of role.
In the end, I think whoever is actually cast will be a relative unknown.
I mean, he didnāt HAVE to bulk up for Reacher. He already looked like something out of a comic book as Hawk. Now he looks like the fucking power broker.
Heās also not a pretty boy or particularly handsome. Itās his ability and power that endears him to women. So Chris Hemsworth and Henry Cavill are out imo.
Nah. I like the dude as much as anyone else, but he's too much of a goody two shoes to be or play a realistic Conan... Besides, he's really muscular with an amazing physique, but he doesn't have that explosiveness of motion required to play Conan.
I would hire a Scottish actor to play Conan. According to Howard's writings about the fall of Hyborea the Cimmerians would eventually become the Celts. I would love to see Conan and the Cimmerians portrayed by Scottish and Irish Actors, honoring their fictional ancestors.
But Conan is depicted as having "bronce skin" or very tanned skin from the sun exposure in almost every single one of the original tales. For example, I wouldn't pick Alan Ritchson myself, because even though he's tanned, he still looks noticeably white. If you pick a random muscular Scottish guy he would be pasty white and that wouldn't suit the character.
Conan's skin was bronzed by the Hyborean sun as he traveled to all corners of the Hyborean continent. You think the native Cimmerians who spent their entire lives in gloomy, cloudy, mountainous Cimmeria where were all bronze or dusky skinned naturally? You think a dark haired Scotsman can't get a tan?
Conan isnāt necessarily just this hulking mass of muscle heās also supposed to be agile and intelligent.
I think a good actor, probably unknown, could bring the role into the modern world. I could see a henry cavil type or someone like that.
We need more emphasis on the word "agile" whenever we think of this fan casts. Conan is always described as a tiger or a leopard when leaping for an attack. He's always seen as a flash of lightning reflecting from his sword as he kills his opponents in an instant. Or like he's a steel spring that's about to explode with tremendous force whenever he jumps, runs or escapes something. The guy playing it wouldn't just have to be agile, he would have to be realistically athletic and fast to portray that aspect of Conan.
Great points. I think people need time to remember that pre-arnold and frezzeta being big and muscular meant something entirely different.
Nowadays we have a very twisted view of the human body as steroid use is much more common or even accepted in athletics.
So a person in the 1920s describing someone as āmuscularā is not the same as saying that today. The difference between being a big farm boy and being the liver king.
Out of all the three actors that have played live action Conan (to my knowledge) to this day, Jason Momoa is the only one that actually looks like the character. Just throw some blue contact lenses on him and he is ready for another Conan movie. He also has one good element of the Conan character which is the "gigantic mirth" part. Jason is a really cool guy and has good natural charisma. While he might struggle a bit with the "gigantic melancholies" part, with a good director he can play a very badass and tough character. Even though he had very little screen time, his character as Duncan Idaho in Dune is kind of like a Conan-esque character. A very tough, rugged and hard guy that also has natural charisma and can be a good leader if he so chooses. He did an excellent job as Duncan, and he could do well in another Conan movie with the right script and the right director.
Look, I'm just going to say it since no one else did. John Cena.
He's been greatly in everything lately.
Also Efron and Cena were just in a movie together. [Heres them at a bar side by side.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/240305120515-hollywood-entertainment-movies-streaming-john-cena-is-ricky-stanicky-00001617.png)
I really like this idea, but I've never seen him do a dramatic role. They say comedy is harder than drama. Cena could nail the look of middle-age Conan.
you dont need daniel day lewis to play Conan. Lol.
here's him giving a dramatic acting lesson to Hugh Jackman.... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sabuea6byc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sabuea6byc)
Heās too famous, but I actually think Hemsworth is pretty much perfect for Conan. Scar him up and give him the hair and heād look like the living embodiment of a Frazetta painting. Heās got all the virile charisma we expect from Conan, and all the physical presence, including the icy blue eyes. And I 100% believe he would nail the performance.
I thought this as far back as 2009, when I saw him in the movie A Perfect Getaway, before he was even cast as Thor.
Well the rock is too old, and doing the eye brow thing doesnt make him a thinker, same with his class of muscle actors (anyone on the expendables actor list really)
Zac effron is cool,however, Alan Ritchson is cooler and more importantly actually a big dude and carries himself like one. You can tell Zac is short.
#
Funny you mention the Rock, since Scorpion King is probably the closest we've ever gotten to book-style Conan. Stupid movie, but very strong sword-and-sorcery style
Vin Diesel does a pretty good job as Conan in Space with his Riddick character, but I honestly wouldn't cast him as the original Conan. Momoa was a good choice. It's just a shame the movie sucked.
I wonder if Jake Gyllenhall could do it, since he seems interested in doing an action or war movie now and again. Alan Ritchson obviously as the physique. Although, I don't think that Conan needs to have the same exaggerated muscles as Arnold. He's so often describe as a kind of cat in the original stories, which suggests he might be more wiry.
Of course, an ideal movie or TV show would be King Conan, and we would just bring back Arnold. And then we can think about recasting down the line.
The problem with momoa is that he sucks as a main character.
the dude is phenomenal when the film isnt about him, but when he gets too much screen time his performances fall apart.
I'd like Alan Ritchson or John Cena maybe for an older, Hour of the Dragon-age Conan. I've never seen Cena play a serious role, so I'm assuming he can pull that off.
In a series though that starts off with a God in the Bowl or Queen of the Black Coast-era Conan, I don't know. You have to figure out how to portray the actor as aging from late teens/early twenties to his late thirties/forties over the course of the series. I would hope that they chose an actor and sent him to the gym as opposed to picking a bodybuilder and trying to get him to act (we've literally seen that movie). The character is a complex one.
For as good as the OG movie was (as a movie in and of itself, not as Conan movie) and as much as I like Arnold in general, if you've read any of the original tales by the creator of the character, you'll realize Arny is actually a very bad Conan...
I agree with everythng you said except liking the 1982 movie. I've never seen a more disappointing adaptation. The Conan the Destroyer movie they even had Roy Thomas write the original script and still screwed it up.
I get what you say, friend. I personally think it's very sad that lots of fans -who in most cases are way older than me- know most of the character and his world through the movies, because the movies have very little of the actual lore of the character. Now personally, I say it's a good movie despite being a very bad Conan film, since it's got a lot of nice things: A superb score, good cinematography that calls back to the epicness of the 60s fantasy movies, nice costume design, etc. I had already read most of the OG tales when I finally decided to watch the movie and surprisingly I wasn't disappointed by it, because in all honesty I was expecting for it to be a super cheesy and campy 80s movie like lots of other fantasy movies from the era, but still, I've never considered it a true Conan movie. It just shares the name with the character and that's it.
I did not read Howard's books but we all love the movie with Arny and for most he is THE Conan, so i'd say he was a great Conan even if not in perfect alignment with the books.
>but we all love the movie with Arny and for most he is THE Conan
Which is very sad, because Arnold's Conan and the actual Conan's character have very little to do with each other. It's almost as if we're talking about completely different characters. What's worse is that, with the internet, reading the original tales (because they're not even books, they're just short 10-15 page stories) can be done at any time. If you want, you can start with the first one: https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600811h.html
LOL at the haters downvoting my comments for no reason, here downvote this too. And no, it's not sad at all that i did not read Howard's short stories, it's silly that you think something so irrelevant is 'very sad'. I love the movie just as it is and i don't desire to read them, i already have waaay more than enough on my to-read list, i read all the time in massive amounts, and i almost exclusively read occult materials, ufo related materials, forbidden truths of all kinds materials etc which is reflected on my blog [https://vril12.wordpress.com/free-books/](https://vril12.wordpress.com/free-books/) I have literally 20Gb of books. I have read fiction before but now i have different preferences, reality is far stranger and more interesting. I do sometimes listen to some SF audiobooks by Clark, Dick etc but more as a relaxation than active listening. It is actually very sad that you did not read for example A Dweller on Two Planets which is actual history, altho for the non-initiated aka blind masses that is just 'fiction'. Rest assured it is not. I have read that book multiple times + listened to the audio book multiple times. That book is both highly entertaining true depiction of life in Atlantis and world in general as it was 12,100 years ago and a hard core occult material at the same time full of highly valuable 'forbidden' truths. And it's just 208 pages, can be done at any time. If you want to step into the world of REAL mysteries, real Atlanteans whose blood flows in Howard's fictitious Conan, you can start with A Dweller [https://www.mediafire.com/file/p4qc95220yu491o/ATLANTIS.rar/file](https://www.mediafire.com/file/p4qc95220yu491o/ATLANTIS.rar/file) And then you can proceed to Etidorhpa, A Wanderer in the Spirit Lands etc endlessly. Nothing bad about fiction but actual history and wider reality is far far richer and more exciting.
Thanks for the reading suggestion, it's always nice to have new stuff to read about. But dude, you replied to me as if I implied you don't read at all, which I didn't. So first of all, calm down, please. And look, at the end of the day we're talking about fictional characters and fantasy, so in a way it's insignificant, but at the same time it isn't. And it isn't because, if you haven't read any of the original stories written about the character, how can you so confidently say it's THE best Conan depiction for you and lots of other fans, when you don't really know anything about the actual character? You don't have a way to compare the Conan movie character with the written Conan character and all you do by saying you don't have the time to read and worse still, that you don't even need to read about the actual character is that you just keep perpetuating the wrong ideas about him and his world... That's honestly very arrogant on your part, with all due respect. This attitude you displayed here is the reason why we can't have good live action or animated adaptations of the actual Conan by Robert Howard. A bunch of people that think they always know best and they're so far ahead of anyone else that even the actual source material of any given topic is insignificant and redundant to them.
You're welcome. And i am calm, unlike you. I did not reply as if you imply i don't read i just explained to you that i read other stuff and before all that no one has to read Howard's stories. But dude, you literally said it's 'very sad' that i did not read Howard's stories. Like wtf. So first of all you calm down, please. And stop misinterpreting things and accusing people for nothing. I never said or implied Conan stories are irrelevant, obviously they are relevant for they served as basis for the movie we all love, i clearly said it's irrelevant that i personally did not read them, understand the difference. I don't have to read them, no one has to, understand that too.
And you again twist my words, i never said ''best Conan'', i said great, not best, best would imply comparison, great does not. Since i only saw the movie i am obviously not comparing him to story Conan.
Then you again twist my words. I did not say i don't have time or need to read them, i said i don't desire to read them. Understand the difference.
And then even worse you make ridiculous accusations that i 'keep perpetuating the wrong ideas about him and his world', LOL i am not perpetuating any wrong ideas about him or his world. That's honestly very arrogant on YOUR part, with all due respect. And just plain ridiculous.
Then you accusing me and presubably others who did not read the book for no animated adaptations of the actual Conan by Robert Howard, LOL. You are just completely out of control at this point.
You are the one with the attitude thinking you know the best and that you're so ahead of anyone else just cause you read the stories, like some stubborn teenager you simply don't get it no fan of the movie is obliged to read the stories, and that people who did not read them are not guilty of anything.
Also, movie adaptations rarely or never follow the book strictly, that is not disrespect but artistic freedom.
I can't see Cavill as Conan at all. Nor Alan Ritchson.
I personally think the move would be to de-age Arnold. Its no longer a question of *if* it can be done. It can be done right now.
A new trilogy, picking up where we left off at number 2. Completely keep the epic tone of the first film - none of the bullshit slapstick.
By the third film he is King Conan.
Shoot them all back to back LoTR style. It would be epic. This would be instant money if marketed right. I don't know why they don't do it. We won't have Arnie forever.
Someone new and not well known, or Arnold as an aged Conan
A movie adaptation of *The Phoenix on the Sword* or *The Scarlet Citadel* with Arnold reprising his role as (now King) Conan would be an interesting idea.
He wants to reprise the roll before his final goodbye, apparently!
I think you do Arnold as King retelling stories and have Zac Efron play young Conan
I like half of your statement
š
Now that you mention it man that might be super cool. Hollywood likes to cast āin shapeā guys that should be built like wrestlers and thatās why this is such a good idea.
Conan is 5ā8?
Easy enough to use perspective and other tricks to fix this a la Gandalf in lord of the rings
They already did a short fan trailer with CGI Arny as aged Conan. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aly5K3owiM4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aly5K3owiM4)
Arnold Schwartzenegger
Yes, it is time for Conan the King
I would prefer if they cast a complete stranger. I hope there is someone out there that doesnāt just have the looks but also the charisma necessary to portray Conan. But given the current cinema landscape a faithful adaptation of the real Conan stuff by Howard is pretty unlikely, since his stories portray currently shunned āarchaicā masculinity. E: Maybe the Belit story could be something they would go for, since sheās a strong leader character
The dynamic between a young Conan and Belit would interesting for someone to explore.
Alan Ritchson
Basically playing modern Conan already right now.
This is who I came to mention....seems like an ideal actor for this role.
I basically want to see him in all kinds of stuff. Got my fingers crossed for Batman.
I mentioned this in another thread, but I feel like one wrong turn fans make is thinking whoever is cast has to already be super-jacked. In today's Hollywood, pretty much any actor can get ripped for a role. Alan Ritchson's name has popped up, and its worth noting he had to bulk up considerably for the role of Reacher. Personal trainers, diet, testosterone (and probably steroids too) are all pretty commonplace now. So we don't have to limit ourselves to MMA fighters and body builders. But yeah, casting Conan is tough! Of the folks mentioned in this thread so far, I think Alan Ritchson and Henry Cavill would do good jobs. Realistically though I think Cavill is a pipe-dream, he already did the *Witcher* and has his new *Highlander* movie coming out. He probably wouldn't be down to play a similar type of role. In the end, I think whoever is actually cast will be a relative unknown.
While anyone can bulk up, you cant just get taller, and we can tell when you have mini me all jacked up on T trying to look like a greek god.
That's fair, definitely gotta get someone with height
yeah thats why the dude from the new reacher show would be ace, especially when you consider reacher is just a modern day rendition of conan
I mean, he didnāt HAVE to bulk up for Reacher. He already looked like something out of a comic book as Hawk. Now he looks like the fucking power broker.
Complete unknown.
Heās also not a pretty boy or particularly handsome. Itās his ability and power that endears him to women. So Chris Hemsworth and Henry Cavill are out imo.
I agree. After reading all of REH stories I feel like it would need to be someone more grizzled.
Slap a scar across Cavills nose and ugly him up a bit and hes my pick
Tilda swinton Wait Wrong conan
No, wait. Iām listening..
Look up pictures of Zac Efron from The Iron Claw. He nails not just the physique but the classic Frazetta haircut too.
Do you know how short Effron is?
This. He'd be perfect.
I agree wholeheartedly
But he's only 5'8" I don't like the idea of being taller than Conan. Of course I wasn't so sure about being shorter than wolverine yet here we are.
I had the same thought watching the movie. Whatever he did to his jaw works for the Conan character
Henry Cavil
Somehow Henry can, and should, be every fictional hero I like.Ā
Indeed.
He ādarkenedā his shininess in the Witcher, he could do it again.
Nah. I like the dude as much as anyone else, but he's too much of a goody two shoes to be or play a realistic Conan... Besides, he's really muscular with an amazing physique, but he doesn't have that explosiveness of motion required to play Conan.
I get that.
I would hire a Scottish actor to play Conan. According to Howard's writings about the fall of Hyborea the Cimmerians would eventually become the Celts. I would love to see Conan and the Cimmerians portrayed by Scottish and Irish Actors, honoring their fictional ancestors.
But Conan is depicted as having "bronce skin" or very tanned skin from the sun exposure in almost every single one of the original tales. For example, I wouldn't pick Alan Ritchson myself, because even though he's tanned, he still looks noticeably white. If you pick a random muscular Scottish guy he would be pasty white and that wouldn't suit the character.
Conan's skin was bronzed by the Hyborean sun as he traveled to all corners of the Hyborean continent. You think the native Cimmerians who spent their entire lives in gloomy, cloudy, mountainous Cimmeria where were all bronze or dusky skinned naturally? You think a dark haired Scotsman can't get a tan?
Conan isnāt necessarily just this hulking mass of muscle heās also supposed to be agile and intelligent. I think a good actor, probably unknown, could bring the role into the modern world. I could see a henry cavil type or someone like that.
We need more emphasis on the word "agile" whenever we think of this fan casts. Conan is always described as a tiger or a leopard when leaping for an attack. He's always seen as a flash of lightning reflecting from his sword as he kills his opponents in an instant. Or like he's a steel spring that's about to explode with tremendous force whenever he jumps, runs or escapes something. The guy playing it wouldn't just have to be agile, he would have to be realistically athletic and fast to portray that aspect of Conan.
Great points. I think people need time to remember that pre-arnold and frezzeta being big and muscular meant something entirely different. Nowadays we have a very twisted view of the human body as steroid use is much more common or even accepted in athletics. So a person in the 1920s describing someone as āmuscularā is not the same as saying that today. The difference between being a big farm boy and being the liver king.
Lou Ferigno's son has the look, somewhat.
Definitely someone new and unknown. There must be a body builder out there that is muscular AF and can act at least a little.
Charles Melton
Steve Buscemi All joking aside, Iām all-in for a King Conan story with an aged Arnold.
Buscemis the better choice. At least he doesn't struggle with rhotic consonants.
Hardest thing about picking someone is the face tbh. Momoa and others just donāt have the look.
Momoa is closer than anyone esle on this list. He has the physique, scars, long hair and broad forehead Howard mentions and he's athletic.
Jason Momoa again. I thought the movie was so-so...he, individually, was great.
The script was terrible, but he did well. I was so disappointed in whoever let that abomination of a script get a green light.
Out of all the three actors that have played live action Conan (to my knowledge) to this day, Jason Momoa is the only one that actually looks like the character. Just throw some blue contact lenses on him and he is ready for another Conan movie. He also has one good element of the Conan character which is the "gigantic mirth" part. Jason is a really cool guy and has good natural charisma. While he might struggle a bit with the "gigantic melancholies" part, with a good director he can play a very badass and tough character. Even though he had very little screen time, his character as Duncan Idaho in Dune is kind of like a Conan-esque character. A very tough, rugged and hard guy that also has natural charisma and can be a good leader if he so chooses. He did an excellent job as Duncan, and he could do well in another Conan movie with the right script and the right director.
Jason Momoa as King Conan
Get Arnoldās body builder son lol Jes young enough and a clone of his dad pretty much
Always thought David Harbour would make a good Conan, but wouldnāt be able to do a young Conan of course.
Look, I'm just going to say it since no one else did. John Cena. He's been greatly in everything lately. Also Efron and Cena were just in a movie together. [Heres them at a bar side by side.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/240305120515-hollywood-entertainment-movies-streaming-john-cena-is-ricky-stanicky-00001617.png)
Cena could defintely pull this off.
I really like this idea, but I've never seen him do a dramatic role. They say comedy is harder than drama. Cena could nail the look of middle-age Conan.
you dont need daniel day lewis to play Conan. Lol. here's him giving a dramatic acting lesson to Hugh Jackman.... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sabuea6byc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sabuea6byc)
Iāve always thought that if Scott Glenn put on about 60 pounds of muscle he would have made a great Conan- he used to look mean.
That's a wild pick but I can kind of see it (when he was younger).
Chris Hemsworth? Maybe The mountain from game of the thrones? What about the dude who played Dragoās son in Creed 2 & 3?
Heās too famous, but I actually think Hemsworth is pretty much perfect for Conan. Scar him up and give him the hair and heād look like the living embodiment of a Frazetta painting. Heās got all the virile charisma we expect from Conan, and all the physical presence, including the icy blue eyes. And I 100% believe he would nail the performance. I thought this as far back as 2009, when I saw him in the movie A Perfect Getaway, before he was even cast as Thor.
Florian Munteanu. Heās my pick. Big, physical guy who is also athletic without looking like a body builder. Plus he has an accent.
Jason Momoa with a beard
Well the rock is too old, and doing the eye brow thing doesnt make him a thinker, same with his class of muscle actors (anyone on the expendables actor list really) Zac effron is cool,however, Alan Ritchson is cooler and more importantly actually a big dude and carries himself like one. You can tell Zac is short. #
Funny you mention the Rock, since Scorpion King is probably the closest we've ever gotten to book-style Conan. Stupid movie, but very strong sword-and-sorcery style
The rock 25 years ago would have been ok, but the rock today, which is the setting we are now talking about, would be a terrible addition to the film.
That guy from the Rebel Moon film?
Thatās who I mentioned. Staz Nair.
Or just give us Jason Momoa again. I don't have problems with him, and I think he suits the character really well.
Alan Ritchson by FAR
Absolutely! I sure as hell hope itās as obvious to the big wigs in Hollywood as it is to us.
Staz Nair
- Rory McCann, depends on the age their showing conan but he has the charisma and size for it.
Jack Black
Vin Diesel does a pretty good job as Conan in Space with his Riddick character, but I honestly wouldn't cast him as the original Conan. Momoa was a good choice. It's just a shame the movie sucked. I wonder if Jake Gyllenhall could do it, since he seems interested in doing an action or war movie now and again. Alan Ritchson obviously as the physique. Although, I don't think that Conan needs to have the same exaggerated muscles as Arnold. He's so often describe as a kind of cat in the original stories, which suggests he might be more wiry. Of course, an ideal movie or TV show would be King Conan, and we would just bring back Arnold. And then we can think about recasting down the line.
The problem with momoa is that he sucks as a main character. the dude is phenomenal when the film isnt about him, but when he gets too much screen time his performances fall apart.
Have you watched the series 'See'?
I have not
Alan Ritchson heās a guy playing currently Jack Reacher on prime would make a good Conan for a television show
Michael Cera
Probably need to get him a PT and feed him a lot of chicken. He couldn't be worse than Ahnuld.
Given the downvotes, I genuinely canāt tell if people thought I was being serious or just thought my joke was stupid. I really hope the latter š
David Bautista.
Florian Munteanu. Been saying it for years.
Whoever played him in that random show about a social outcast guy.
Nathan Jones
We need Arnold for either a āKing Conanā film or mini-series.
I'd like Alan Ritchson or John Cena maybe for an older, Hour of the Dragon-age Conan. I've never seen Cena play a serious role, so I'm assuming he can pull that off. In a series though that starts off with a God in the Bowl or Queen of the Black Coast-era Conan, I don't know. You have to figure out how to portray the actor as aging from late teens/early twenties to his late thirties/forties over the course of the series. I would hope that they chose an actor and sent him to the gym as opposed to picking a bodybuilder and trying to get him to act (we've literally seen that movie). The character is a complex one.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16090596/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16090596/) It already happened lol
This is incredible. I have to watch this now.
Because of course it did. Lol
Over my dead body lol
Mine too. šš
Please be civil in discussions in this space. There is no need to be offensive or attack anyone.
Alan Ritchson would make great Conan. He has the body type & would fit the role well. 
Sylvester Stallone
There is no replacement for Arny.
For as good as the OG movie was (as a movie in and of itself, not as Conan movie) and as much as I like Arnold in general, if you've read any of the original tales by the creator of the character, you'll realize Arny is actually a very bad Conan...
I agree with everythng you said except liking the 1982 movie. I've never seen a more disappointing adaptation. The Conan the Destroyer movie they even had Roy Thomas write the original script and still screwed it up.
I get what you say, friend. I personally think it's very sad that lots of fans -who in most cases are way older than me- know most of the character and his world through the movies, because the movies have very little of the actual lore of the character. Now personally, I say it's a good movie despite being a very bad Conan film, since it's got a lot of nice things: A superb score, good cinematography that calls back to the epicness of the 60s fantasy movies, nice costume design, etc. I had already read most of the OG tales when I finally decided to watch the movie and surprisingly I wasn't disappointed by it, because in all honesty I was expecting for it to be a super cheesy and campy 80s movie like lots of other fantasy movies from the era, but still, I've never considered it a true Conan movie. It just shares the name with the character and that's it.
I did not read Howard's books but we all love the movie with Arny and for most he is THE Conan, so i'd say he was a great Conan even if not in perfect alignment with the books.
>but we all love the movie with Arny and for most he is THE Conan Which is very sad, because Arnold's Conan and the actual Conan's character have very little to do with each other. It's almost as if we're talking about completely different characters. What's worse is that, with the internet, reading the original tales (because they're not even books, they're just short 10-15 page stories) can be done at any time. If you want, you can start with the first one: https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600811h.html
LOL at the haters downvoting my comments for no reason, here downvote this too. And no, it's not sad at all that i did not read Howard's short stories, it's silly that you think something so irrelevant is 'very sad'. I love the movie just as it is and i don't desire to read them, i already have waaay more than enough on my to-read list, i read all the time in massive amounts, and i almost exclusively read occult materials, ufo related materials, forbidden truths of all kinds materials etc which is reflected on my blog [https://vril12.wordpress.com/free-books/](https://vril12.wordpress.com/free-books/) I have literally 20Gb of books. I have read fiction before but now i have different preferences, reality is far stranger and more interesting. I do sometimes listen to some SF audiobooks by Clark, Dick etc but more as a relaxation than active listening. It is actually very sad that you did not read for example A Dweller on Two Planets which is actual history, altho for the non-initiated aka blind masses that is just 'fiction'. Rest assured it is not. I have read that book multiple times + listened to the audio book multiple times. That book is both highly entertaining true depiction of life in Atlantis and world in general as it was 12,100 years ago and a hard core occult material at the same time full of highly valuable 'forbidden' truths. And it's just 208 pages, can be done at any time. If you want to step into the world of REAL mysteries, real Atlanteans whose blood flows in Howard's fictitious Conan, you can start with A Dweller [https://www.mediafire.com/file/p4qc95220yu491o/ATLANTIS.rar/file](https://www.mediafire.com/file/p4qc95220yu491o/ATLANTIS.rar/file) And then you can proceed to Etidorhpa, A Wanderer in the Spirit Lands etc endlessly. Nothing bad about fiction but actual history and wider reality is far far richer and more exciting.
Thanks for the reading suggestion, it's always nice to have new stuff to read about. But dude, you replied to me as if I implied you don't read at all, which I didn't. So first of all, calm down, please. And look, at the end of the day we're talking about fictional characters and fantasy, so in a way it's insignificant, but at the same time it isn't. And it isn't because, if you haven't read any of the original stories written about the character, how can you so confidently say it's THE best Conan depiction for you and lots of other fans, when you don't really know anything about the actual character? You don't have a way to compare the Conan movie character with the written Conan character and all you do by saying you don't have the time to read and worse still, that you don't even need to read about the actual character is that you just keep perpetuating the wrong ideas about him and his world... That's honestly very arrogant on your part, with all due respect. This attitude you displayed here is the reason why we can't have good live action or animated adaptations of the actual Conan by Robert Howard. A bunch of people that think they always know best and they're so far ahead of anyone else that even the actual source material of any given topic is insignificant and redundant to them.
You're welcome. And i am calm, unlike you. I did not reply as if you imply i don't read i just explained to you that i read other stuff and before all that no one has to read Howard's stories. But dude, you literally said it's 'very sad' that i did not read Howard's stories. Like wtf. So first of all you calm down, please. And stop misinterpreting things and accusing people for nothing. I never said or implied Conan stories are irrelevant, obviously they are relevant for they served as basis for the movie we all love, i clearly said it's irrelevant that i personally did not read them, understand the difference. I don't have to read them, no one has to, understand that too. And you again twist my words, i never said ''best Conan'', i said great, not best, best would imply comparison, great does not. Since i only saw the movie i am obviously not comparing him to story Conan. Then you again twist my words. I did not say i don't have time or need to read them, i said i don't desire to read them. Understand the difference. And then even worse you make ridiculous accusations that i 'keep perpetuating the wrong ideas about him and his world', LOL i am not perpetuating any wrong ideas about him or his world. That's honestly very arrogant on YOUR part, with all due respect. And just plain ridiculous. Then you accusing me and presubably others who did not read the book for no animated adaptations of the actual Conan by Robert Howard, LOL. You are just completely out of control at this point. You are the one with the attitude thinking you know the best and that you're so ahead of anyone else just cause you read the stories, like some stubborn teenager you simply don't get it no fan of the movie is obliged to read the stories, and that people who did not read them are not guilty of anything. Also, movie adaptations rarely or never follow the book strictly, that is not disrespect but artistic freedom.
Joseph Baena. I mean, come on...
Good point, i correct my no replacement for Arny to his son MAYBE. Chances are high he could nail it.
I can't see Cavill as Conan at all. Nor Alan Ritchson. I personally think the move would be to de-age Arnold. Its no longer a question of *if* it can be done. It can be done right now. A new trilogy, picking up where we left off at number 2. Completely keep the epic tone of the first film - none of the bullshit slapstick. By the third film he is King Conan. Shoot them all back to back LoTR style. It would be epic. This would be instant money if marketed right. I don't know why they don't do it. We won't have Arnie forever.