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Arnold Schwarzenegger's final Conan movie will echo a classic western, says the Barbarian himself

Arnold Schwarzenegger has promised that the King Conan film will have "extraordinary battles" in it

A still from Conan the Destroyer — Image credit: Universal Pictures

News by Jules Chin Greene, Staff Writer

Published on Fri May 22 2026

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Earlier this year, it was announced that Mission: Impossible - Fallout writer-director Christopher McQuarrie was signed on to direct a King Conan movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. And now, Schwarzenegger himself has revealed some tantalizing details about the forthcoming film.

Schwarzenegger gave TheArnoldFans an evocative description of the film. "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 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, The Unforgiven. It will be a lot like that but it will be with extraordinary battles."

Now, I can't help but wonder what a Schwarzenegger vs. Eastwood squint off would look like onscreen. Which iconic leading man can look the most irritated by the sun and by the other man standing across from him? I'm not picky about which version of Schwarzenegger and Eastwood would be in this hypothetical squint battle. Running Man Schwarzenegger vs. Gran Torino Eastwood? The combinations are endless.

In all seriousness, the only thing cooler than a dude with a sword is an old dude with a sword (or a mecha with a sword, but I don't think that's the kind of movie King Conan is going to be). So I'm looking forward to seeing what McQuarrie and Schwarzenegger are going to be cooking up with this film.

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Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, and Multiverse of Color.