Producer Chris Morgan recently pulled off something of a coup in convincing Arnold Schwarzenegger to dust off his loincloth for forthcoming sequel The Legend Of Conan , and has recently been describing what we can expect from the great warrior’s return.
“He’s not going out and fighting battles, but he ends up getting drawn into something,” says Morgan. “And he has to access the barbarian he was in his youth. I love that Conan has been many things in his life, notably a pirate, a major tactician and a commander of men. In this movie, we’re going to tap into some of those things - things you haven’t seen on screen yet.
“I want the warrior whose joints have started to fuse together, who has to crack the cartilage so he can pick up a sword again. I want the guy who’s not necessarily lost a step, but there’s some rust he has to shake off. I want to embrace that. It makes it a greater hero story. Conan needs to be faced with challenges.
“The greatest challenge to him isn’t the armies that are set before him. It’s, on some level, self-doubt, a little bit of slowing down and forcing yourself to be heroic beyond what people expect of you. What I don’t want is for him to step back in and look the same. That would defeat the purpose of our story.”
And while Morgan’s own time constraints may mean that he’s not able to write the script himself, he’s determined to be heavily involved in the creative process from beginning to end.
“No matter what, I’ll be there every step of the way. Whether it’s penning this quickly or selecting the writer, it’s me guiding the process or being a real honest-to-god producer. I’m excited either way. I’m really, really stoked.”
The Legend Of Conan will open in UK cinemas in summer 2014.
