Get Ready for a New Conan

Yes, as August rolls around the corner a new film starring Conan the Barbarian will come to the big screen. The new film will be released on August 19, and star Jason Momoa as Conan the Barbarian. As the film moves towards it opening day, I'll be posting all I the information about the Barbarian that I can to get you in the mood, and sharing all of my concerns about this recent film. One thing is for certain-I don't think this is just a way to exploit a popular eighties movie. Sure, they will be drawing on the original film's fan base. I've criticized a lot of remakes for that, but this film may really have something to offer, and I would never want a remake of the Arnold film.

As an utterly shameless fan of the original Conan film, I will start with the obvious question- is Jason Momoa the right actor for the job? Mamoa is the third actor to play Conan, a character created by the short story writer Robert E. Howard in the thirties. More on him later, but who is the first person that comes to mind when one hears Conan the Barbarian (and that person is not confused or rolling their eyes)? It is of course Arnold Schwarzenegger; now a famous (and infamous) actor, businessperson, and politician. The original 1982 Conan the Barbarian is a cult classic of the eighties that fans of the sword and sorcery genre, or bodybuilding, can't resist loving. It's an action packed film that is wildly entertaining and engaging; it draws one into a far off world and leaves one begging for more. The film's success had a lot to do with the other people as well; the direction of John Milius, the joint writing talents of John Milius and Oliver Stone, the great set and costume design, the outstanding musical score by Basil Poledouris, and lastly the outstanding performance of James Earl Jones as Arnold's nemesis, the evil wizard Thulsa-Doom made the film the cult classic that it is. However, the original first two Conan films (it was followed by a less successful sequel straight after) where really all about Arnold. Conan was Arnold's first major role as a lead actor in a big budget Hollywood film. He had been introduced to the world in the documentary Pumping Iron as a charismatic young bodybuilder, but Conan was his first real notable role (even before Terminator) and the role propelled him to fame. To make another Conan Film, the film makers would have a very difficult choice; try to replicate Arnold and replicate the script with bigger effects, something that would likely be a disaster, or offer a different interpretation of the Character based upon a host of other source material, especially the original work of Robert E. Howard. These films creators did the later, and are offering a new Conan for a new generation. I don't know if Momoa will play the role well, but from what I have seen of the trailers (If a trailer can say anything) his performance looks promising. It's the only smart way to do Conan without Arnold.



To begin with, I think we can all agree that Arnold is hard to replace as an action hero, and James Earl Jones is a darn good actor. Any performance based on their interpretations of the character would be found wanting and seem like a caricature of an already loved and well done performance. We also need not look any further than the late nineties TV series Conan. O yes, it existed. Conan starred Raplh Moller as Conan in a live action TV series that spanned a few seasons. Ralph Moller dully played Conan with a slightly foney sounding German accent and battled an evil wizard in leather under-oos and horribly done computer animated monsters throughout the short lived series. It was bad-bad by my standards; please take a moment to take that one in. I'd go for an episode of Masters of the Universe before I would watch this one. The two hour TV pilot was a virtual remake of the 1982 film. Conan and his nemesis, the wizard "Hissazul" (I don't know if that's how you spell his name and I don't care), where rip offs from the characters in the Arnold films, and it follows almost the same plot with a few modifications and extra monsters. In the series, Hissazul kills Conan's family and enslaves him, he escapes, he falls in love, he kills his love, he finds a similar sword to the eighties film in an ancient crypt, and goes after Hissazul). Conan is now available on Hulu for free, if you watch a car commercial or two. I would check it out if you have nothing better to do, or are deathly ill. A half assed remake with some nice new special effects would be another disaster, comparable to this terrible series or that Clash of the Titans remake from last year that nobody liked. So, I am more than willing to give a new interpretation of the source material a chance. What do I mean by that?

Conan was created by Robert E. Howard, a writer whom is legendary among fans of fantasy and science fiction literature. He began to publish Conan short stories in the mid thirties, primarily through the pulp magazine Weird Tales. The character was later used in novels by multiple writers, and adapted into a comic book several times as well. Howard was also responsible for the Characters King Kull, Red Sonja, and Solomon Kane among others. Howard's work is still known and followed by fans of fantasy literature to this day. In fact, fantasy scholars sometimes sort all fantasy work into two categories: Howard-esue (stories resembling Conan and Howard's work) and Tolkien-esque (Stores resembling the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and Lord of the Rings).

Personally, I've been re-reading some of the original Conan stories recently released in paperback collections, and will buy a few of the comics. Would I have loved to see Arnold finish what he started? Heck yeah, but it's not likely to happen. There's only one way that I can imagine that would happen, and I'll address it in further posts. It should be briefly noted that sadly, due to the recent news concerning Arnold, I'm almost glad to see a fresh face on the character. Even as a lifelong fan, I would not be happy to see Arnold in a cameo now. It would not be right for him to still be a star at this moment. I believe in forgiveness, but for a while Arnold needs to be out of the public’s admiration, and reconcile as much as he can with his family. I don’t know if there will ever be another Conan, and there honestly won’t be another Terminator. If there ever where a time to try either of these things; it’s now. The James Bond character has been played successfully by several actors, with each one giving a unique interpretation to the character. To some degree, so has Batman (I would count West, Keaton, and Bale as successful Batmans'). It's possible to have several actors "be" a character for the fans, as Sean Connery, Rodger Moore, and Pierce Brosnan are all somehow Bond for us. This phenomenon is rare but possible.

So henceforth, from now on check back here for a Conan posting every week. I'll be introducing you to the original mythology of the character until August 19. Let's approach this with the understanding that the Arnold movies where great, but that the character and his world, the Hyborian age, are rich and vast, and I'm going to embrace the new interpretation with enthusiasm.

Lastly, please forgive some of the bad spacing on this post if you can. As I added little treats for you in the post, such as videos and links, it messed up some of the spacing. My apologies.