Movies & TV
Conan on the silver screen and boob tube

The success of the extended chronicles of Conan led inevitably to screen adaptations … which have, so far, been even less faithful to Howard’s work than even the Marvel Comics comics! Probably the best known are the two Conan films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian  (1982; dir. John Milius)

Young Conan’s parents are murdered by a horde of vicious warriors who then enslave the young child for years. He is eventually released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness seeking vengeance on the man responsible for his family's murder.

“… it is a very respectable attempt to invest Howard’s creation with the full burden of epic myth. ”

― John Grant, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy

See: David C. Smith’s A Critical Appreciation of John Milius’s Conan the Barbarian 

Conan the Destroyer

Conan the Destroyer  (1984; dir. Richard Fleischer)

Conan is sent on a mission by a queen to accompany her princess daughter to a distant castle to retrieve some mysterious and magical gems. Unbeknownst to him, the queen has a plan to double-cross him and use her daughter for a sacrifice upon their return. Conan steps up for battle…

“… clearly designed as a straightforward S&S romp; as such, it succeeds.”

― John Grant, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy

Conan: The Adventurer

On TV, 1992 saw the animated Conan: The Adventurer, produced in France. This was closer the Marvel Comics Conan than Howard’s, although several Howard stories were adapted in the course of its run, including “The Frost Giant’s Daughter”.

The series ended with a three-part story, released on video in 1995.

In 1994 there was one episode of Conan and the Young Warriors.

Conan (TV)

Later, the success of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys prompted the live-action series Conan (1997) – sometimes cited as Conan: The Adventurer – starring Ralph Moeller (or Möller; Vibius in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000)) as Conan. The two-part pilot episode was repackaged as a TV movie Conan: The Adventurer (1998).

By most critical accounts this was an inept and insipid effort whose saving grace was its short life. See Spectrum #13  for a particularly thoughtful review: “The weekly syndicated television series Conan is not the worst of these pseudo-Hercules productions, but it still manages to epitomize virtually everything wrong with the TV mentality. ”

False starts

Kull the Conqueror (1997; dir. John Nicolella) was originally meant to be the third Conan movie, «Conan the Conqueror», but the script was rewritten as Kull for Kevin Sorbo when Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to reprise the role of Conan. Wise move, Arnie…

A new Conan movie, King Conan: Crown of Iron, again directed by Milius, was reportedly in production and scheduled for a 2005 release. But this seems to have all but vanished… Rumour had Robert Rodriguez taking over the helm… before he took on production duties for the new Red Sonja movie.

Conan: Red Nails

The first animated Conan movie is in production and – following numerous delays and rumours of its demise – appears to be on track for release in December 2009 (see Quiet Earth ).

Conan: Red Nails is based on REH’s famous novella, first published in Weird Tales in 1936: Conan and the sexy pirate Valeria survive battles across harsh desert and trackless jungle only to confront the mystery and horror of a fabulous lost city.

Embroiled in a feud between the city’s factions, Conan must triumph over dragons, demons, and hordes of magical foes to end the war and win Valeria’s affection.

Ron Perlman (Hellboy), voicing Conan, leads an impressive cast that includes Marg Helgenberger (CSI), James Marsden (Cyclops in X-Men), Clancy Brown, Cree Summer, and Mark Hamill.

Legendary illustrator Michael Kaluta is the Key Concept Designer for the film; Mark Schultz, who recently illustrated The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, will add additional concept designs. The film is being directed by animation veteran Victor Dal Chele.

Fingers crossed…

Official site: Conan: Red Nails 

Conan

A new movie  is in development and scheduled for release in 2010.