20th Century Studios is reviving the Conan the Barbarian franchise with the upcoming movie King Conan. The highly anticipated project will be written and directed by Mission: Impossible franchise director Christopher McQuarrie. It is based on the iconic sword-and-sorcery character created by Robert E. Howard in 1932.
Confirmed King Conan cast
Last March, it was confirmed that Arnold Schwarzenegger had officially signed on to reprise his breakout role as the hero Conan. He previously played the character in 1982’s Conan the Barbarian and its 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer. Over four decades later, the Terminator star will bring back the character to life for its upcoming revival movie King Conan. In a previous interview, Schwarzenegger confirmed that he will begin filming the King Conan movie in 2027.
Further details about the plot and characters are still under wraps, but it’s expected to follow an aging king who’s now ready to retire. Because of this, the new movie may introduce Conan’s heir, Conn. The character was originally featured in 1968’s Conan of the Isles novel and in Marvel Comics’ 1980 comic book series King Conan.
“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,” Schwarzenegger teased. “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. Look at the movie by Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven. It will be a lot like that, but it will be with extraordinary battles.”
Unconfirmed King Conan cast
So far, Schwarzenegger is the project’s only confirmed cast member. Should the studio enlist more cast members from the original franchise, three more stars could potentially return since their characters survived at the end of the 1984 movie. Olivia d’Abo’s return as Queen Jehnna is most likely to happen since the British actress remains active in the industry. Her most recent projects were 2024’s crime TV show The Bay and 2025’s comedy series Hot Kitchen. Even though they both shifted away from acting for a long time now, the studio may still find a way to bring back fashion icon Grace Jones and Repo Man star Tracey Walter for potential cameo appearances. Jones played one of Conan’s fiercest allies, Zula, while Walter portrayed court jester Malak.
As for Akiro the Wizard, even though the Grand Wizard of the Court survived at the end of Conan the Destroyer, the studio won’t be able to enlist its original actor anymore. The Akiro actor, Academy Award nominee Mako, passed away in 2006 at the age of 72 due to esophageal cancer.
