Christopher McQuarrie is set to write and direct “King Conan.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger is reviving ‘Conan the Barbarian’ with ‘Mission: Impossible’ filmmaker

Christopher McQuarrie is set to write and direct "King Conan."

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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March 9, 2026 7:24 p.m. ET

Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'Conan the Barbarian' (1982). Credit:

Dino De Laurentiis/Universal Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is ready to be king...Conan.

Almost 45 years after starred in *Conan the Barbarian*, Schwarzenegger is officially picking up the sword again for *King Conan*, the upcoming third installment in the franchise, EW has confirmed. Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (*The Usual Suspects*) is set to write and direct the film for 20th Century Studios.

McQuarrie has spent the last decade as Tom Cruise's partner-in-crime on the previous four *Mission: Impossible *movies, and *King Conan* will be his first non-*Mission *directorial effort since 2012's *Jack Reacher*.

Based on the work of author Robert E. Howard, the 1982 fantasy adventure *Conan the Barbarian* starred Schwarzenegger as the shirtless warrior hero. Co-written by Oliver Stone and directed by John Milius, the film was the big-screen breakout for the former bodybuilder, and a sequel, *Conan the Destroyer*, arrived in 1984, a few months before *The Terminator*.

Christopher McQuarrie; Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Ayisha Collins/Getty; Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

Over the weekend, Schwarzenegger teased the idea of *King Conan* during a conversation at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

"It’s a great story where Conan was [king for] 40 years, and he gets complacent, and now he gets forced out of the kingdom, slowly," he said. "Then there’s conflict, and then he somehow comes back, and then there’s all kinds of madness and violence and magic and creatures. Now, of course, you have all the special effects, and the studio system has plenty of money to make those movies really big."

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At the same event, Schwarzenegger revealed that he's had conversations with *Prey *and *Predator: Badlands* filmmaker Dan Tratchenberg about returning to the *Predator *Universe.

Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone announced on Monday that he has signed on to produce the upcoming *Rambo* prequel. Jean-Claude Van Damme, you're now officially on the revival clock.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Movies”