Arnold Schwarzenegger’s King Conan Shoots in 2027

After more than 40 years, Arnold Schwarzenegger is finally coming back to the role that made him a star — and this time, he’s not just picking up a sword. He’s sitting on a throne.

Schwarzenegger confirmed to TheArnoldFans — timed to the 44th anniversary of the original 1982 fantasy film — that King Conan is targeting a 2027 production start, with a 2028 release now the logical target. And the man behind the camera is no small name: Christopher McQuarrie, the director who has helmed the last four Mission: Impossible films, is attached to write and direct the sequel for 20th Century Studios.

“Next year, we are going to do King Conan,” Schwarzenegger said. “So that is a reality now, and I am excited about it.”

That’s not a tease. That’s a green light.

The deal is done. Fredrik Malmberg of Conan Properties International confirmed that an agreement between CPI, Schwarzenegger, and Twentieth Century Fox has been completed to make the long-gestating sequel a reality — clearing the last major hurdle after years of false starts that have frustrated fans of the franchise.

Why Now — and Why It Couldn’t Have Happened Sooner

Schwarzenegger has been talking about a King Conan sequel for the better part of a decade, but he’s always insisted the timing had to be right. Now, at 78, he says it finally is — and the reason is built into the premise itself.

“The movie wouldn’t have worked after I did the first Conan because the whole idea of King Conan is that, for 40 years, he has been king,” he explained. “He is older now. He is no longer in the shape he was from his heyday, and now people are trying to take him out. He’s the king, and he gets a little bit complacent. He’s tired of the job, and he wants to move on.”

The reference point he keeps coming back to? Clint Eastwood. “Look at the movie by Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven,” Schwarzenegger said. “It will be a lot like that, but it will be with extraordinary battles.”

That’s a striking creative benchmark — a revisionist, elegiac take on a legendary warrior who has outlived the era that defined him. It’s a very different proposition from the muscle-and-mayhem spectacle of the 1982 original, and it suggests McQuarrie — who has spent years crafting increasingly complex, character-driven action with Tom Cruise — is exactly the right fit for what Schwarzenegger has in mind.

A Long Road Back to Aquilonia

Schwarzenegger first played Conan in John Milius’s cult-classic Conan the Barbarian in 1982, then reprised the role in Conan the Destroyer in 1984. Those two films helped launch one of the biggest careers in Hollywood history — predating even The Terminator — and Conan has remained among his most beloved characters ever since.

Lionsgate attempted to reboot the franchise in 2011 with Jason Momoa in the lead, but that film was poorly received and went nowhere. Schwarzenegger was not involved.

For this one, he wants the people who understand where Conan came from. In paying tribute to the project’s roots, Schwarzenegger specifically named author Robert E. Howard, who created the character, and the late Frank Frazetta, whose iconic fantasy artwork helped define the visual language of the Conan world for generations. He also wants original director John Milius involved — potentially as a producer. “I want to have John Milius, the director of Conan 1, to be maybe the producer,” he said. “So it will be really fantastic.”

No casting has been announced beyond Schwarzenegger himself. But with the deal closed, McQuarrie in place, and cameras expected to roll in 2027, King Conan is no longer a dream deferred.

“For the last 10 years, I have been saying, ‘We should do King Conan, and we should get a great script written, get someone who really understands Robert E. Howard, that understands the artwork of Frank Frazetta and to continue on,’” Schwarzenegger said. “So it will be really fantastic.”

After four decades of waiting, fans might actually believe him this time.