Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a new Conan the Barbarian film titled King Conan at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. The project is in development at 20th Century Studios, with Christopher McQuarrie set to write and direct. Schwarzenegger will reprise his role as the aging king facing exile and conflict.
Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed plans for a new entry in the Conan the Barbarian franchise during an appearance at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, over the March 8-9, 2026 weekend. The film, titled King Conan, is being developed at 20th Century Studios, with Christopher McQuarrie, known for directing the recent Mission: Impossible films, attached to write and direct.
Schwarzenegger described the story as drawing from the character's lore: “With King Conan, it’s a great old story that Conan was forty years as King, and now he gets forced out of the kingdom, and there’s conflict, of course, but somehow he comes back, and there’s all kinds of madness, violence, magic, and creatures and stuff like that.” He noted that the role will be age-appropriate, allowing him to "kick some ass" while incorporating modern special effects, and emphasized the studio's resources to make it a large-scale production.
The Conan character, created by Robert E. Howard in the 1930s for Weird Tales magazine, depicts a warrior in the fictional Hyborian Age facing battles, intrigue, and supernatural elements. Schwarzenegger first portrayed Conan in the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian, which grossed over $68 million worldwide and became a cult classic. This was followed by Conan the Destroyer in 1984. A planned third film in the late 1980s did not materialize. Universal distributed the original two films, while Lionsgate's 2011 reboot starring Jason Momoa earned over $63 million globally but did not lead to sequels.
Representatives for 20th Century Studios and Schwarzenegger declined to comment on the development. McQuarrie recently directed Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which grossed nearly $600 million worldwide. Schwarzenegger, repped by UTA and others, recently starred in the Netflix series FUBAR and has the upcoming Amazon MGM film The Man with the Bag.
