Robert E. Howard’s creation ofConan the Barbarian, a sword-and-sorcery fantasy icon, is about to get new life long after the author’s untimely death.Arnold Schwarzeneggerbecame synonymous with the character thanks to the career-launching title role in two 80s films. These were followed up by a pair of animated series–Conan the AdventurerandConan and the Young Warriors–and a short-lived live-action TV series in the 90s. Most recently,Conanwas rebooted in the 2011 film starringJason Momoaand will be featured in the upcoming video game,Conan Exiles. But fans of Howard’s “Weird Tales” creation will get to see the Cimmerian Barbarian return to the small screen once more in a new series being developed by Amazon.
AsDeadlinereports, theConanseries project hasColonyco-creatorRyan Condal,Game of ThronesdirectorMiguel Sapochnik, andFargoandThe Handmaid’s Taleexecutive producerWarren Littlefieldon board, along with Pathfinder Media and Endeavor Content. Condal serves as the series' creator/writer/EP while Sapochnik directs, and also executive produces alongside Littlefield. That’s a lot of talent behind the scenes, butConanprojects have attempted to find purchase in recent years without success, so what’s different about it this time?
Condal’sConanaims to retell the classic story by returning to Howard’s literary origins. This treatment finds the title character driven out of his tribal homelands and forced to wander a dangerous world while searching for purpose in a land that sees him as nothing more than a mindless savage. Both fans of the source material, Condal and Sapochnik hope to get back toConan’s roots in the pages of “Weird Tales” for an adaptation that’s faithful to the 1930s character.
That sort of world-wandering fantasy epic falls right in line with Amazon’s push into the genre as they’re looking to ape the success ofGame of Throneswith bothConanand a massive bet on aLord of the Ringsadaptation. Hopefully this will be the push that high-fantasy series need in the era of Peak TV, but therecent cancellation of the lush and ambitious series adaptation ofThe Shannara Chroniclesdoesn’t bode well. We’ll have more details onConanas they become available.
As for the team behind the scenes, Condal is currently adaptingLogan’s Runfor Warner Bros., having recently written (in part) New Line’sRampagescreenplay. He also shares screenplay credit for the 2014 pictureHerculesstarringDwayne Johnson, so that could clue us in as to his approach to theConanmythos. Sapochnik, an Emmy-winner for his direction ofGame of Thrones' “Battle of the Bastards” episode, recently directed Netflix’sAltered Carbonseries opener and will direct Amblin Entertainment’sBIOSstarringTom Hanks. Littlefield brings to the table his Emmy-winning experience as an executive producer (Fargo,The Handmaid’s Tale).
Are you excited to seeConanreturn, or is it too early to tell? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
