- 20th Century Studios has attached Christopher McQuarrie to write and direct King Conan, reviving the character that was an early signature role for Schwarzenegger and marking a direct return to the original 1982 and 1984 film continuity
- Fox Studios is also in talks with Schwarzenegger for both Commando 2 and a new Predator film, meaning the 78-year-old action legend could be returning to three of his most iconic franchises simultaneously
- The project is in early development with no production budget, additional cast, filming start date, or release window announced yet
Arnold Schwarzenegger walked onto the stage at his own sports festival in Columbus, Ohio, ten days ago, opened his mouth, and casually detonated the internet. King Conan. Christopher McQuarrie. 20th Century Studios. Three words that action movie fans have been waiting to hear in the same sentence for over a decade.
He did not whisper it. He announced it like a man who has been waiting to say it for years. And Hollywood has not stopped talking about it since.
The Story That Has Been Waiting 40 Years
This is not a reboot. This is not a remake. This is the continuation that was always supposed to happen, and the premise is exactly as good as it sounds.
The premise of King Conan focuses on an older Conan facing exile and renewed conflict after ruling as king for 40 years, shifting the narrative focus away from the young warrior origin seen in the early eighties. Schwarzenegger himself described it on stage with barely contained excitement. “It’s a great story where Conan was king for 40 years, and he gets complacent, and now he gets forced out of the kingdom. Then there’s conflict, and then he somehow comes back, and then there’s all kinds of madness and violence and magic and creatures.”
Madness, violence, magic, and creatures. From the man who directed the last four Mission: Impossible films. On a big studio budget. With a 78-year-old legend who refuses to act his age.
Schwarzenegger was clear that the role will be written to better reflect his current age, saying they do not write him like he is 40 years old. “I’ll still go in there and kick some ass, but it will be different.” An older, wiser, battle-scarred king who gets everything ripped away and has to claw it back. That is not just a good Conan story. That is genuinely great cinema waiting to happen.
Why McQuarrie Is the Perfect Choice
After years of throwing Tom Cruise out of airplanes and attempting to bury him at sea, McQuarrie will write and direct King Conan, a legacy sequel to the original Schwarzenegger movies from the early eighties. This would be his first directing project outside the Mission: Impossible franchise since Jack Reacher in 2012.
Think about what McQuarrie actually does well. Propulsive action that never feels stupid. Characters who carry weight. Stakes that feel real. Sequences that make audiences forget to breathe. Given the success of Top Gun: Maverick, which grossed $1.49 billion globally and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, McQuarrie seems the right person for the job. If he could make a legacy sequel to Top Gun that genuinely moved people, imagine what he could do with a king who lost his throne and has nothing left to lose.
Fox Has Fully Rediscovered Arnold
Here is the part of this announcement that nobody was expecting. King Conan is just one piece of something much bigger. Fox Studios has come to Schwarzenegger and said they want him for Predator, and they already have a script ready for Commando 2. Dan Trachtenberg, the director behind Prey and Predator: Badlands, has personally reached out about bringing the original Dutch back to the franchise.
Three franchises. One 78-year-old Austrian Oak. All at once.
At the end of Conan the Barbarian, you get a brief glimpse of Schwarzenegger in full King Conan mode when the story jumps forward in time. That frame has been sitting there for 44 years, a promise the movies never kept. Until now. Fox finally has the rights. McQuarrie finally has the job. And Arnold is finally ready to put the crown back on.
The king is coming home.
