"The new "Conan" movie" Topic

Some of you may already know about this, but a new "Conan" is being filmed. Here's a blog with a few photos:

conan-trailer.blogspot.com

There's no word on it so far except that Jason Momoa plays "Conan". I like the way he looks in the photos. He looks like the "Conan" I always imagined from the novels. Whether he can do the character is another story.

So long as there are 'steely thews' and a 'black lion-like mane' I think it'll fit Howard's oft-used descriptions!

That guy looks nothing like Conan. And who's going to play Jay Leno?

I'm so confused!

Mulligan

Oh…BTW…this movie should provide many scenarios for miniatures gaming and it will probably also provide inspriration for miniatures painters. (-:

>>And who's going to play Jay Leno?<<

Maybe Betty White? She's everywhere these days. (-:

I was very disappointed with the casting of Conan. I think I will be waiting for Netflix with this one.

Interesting – it looks like they are taking after the new Dark Horse comics for visuals, which is a good thing. And … Hyborian Boobies! Hyboria was not PC ;)

Have to admit that on first hearing it would be Momoa I thought "Stargate – Cimmeria" but he looks the part – maybe even better than Arnie (at least in Conan the Destroyer, he was great in Barbarian).

Thanks for the news!

By the way, some of the stills at the blog are probably NSFW. Conan's not the only one with a bare torso.

The nose is not how I recall Conan from the comics – should have more of an aquiline nose. And what's with the dreadlocks? A Cher type of wig with bangs is more appropriate. The lamentating women look good, though

"That guy looks nothing like Conan."

Oh yeah, I take it you've seen Conan's passport?

>>By the way, some of the stills at the blog are probably NSFW. Conan's not the only one with a bare torso.<<

Uh oh. Didn't notice that photo. Oh well, anybody who had a mother ought to recognize those. (-:

>>What's with the dreadlocks?<<

What dreadlocks? These ain't dreadlocks.

picture

Oh, sorry – this picture was from another movie he was in

BOOBIES! I'm in.

Don't believe everything you see. They photoshopped his face on my body!

I was originally bothered by the claim that the original Conan the Barbarian is a pastiche, as the term often carries a derogative association. But it is. Despite its smatterings of ill-conceived humor, I think the original Conan has some profound moments that deserve acknowledgment. At times it transcends the genre it falls into, and fits into the 'heroic quest' mode, a long lived literary tradition.

Momoa doesn't look brutal enough, he has a 'male model' face. If only they could find a real-life lookalike of Nathan Explosion from the cartoon Metalocalypse…

Can't get past his curly hair/weave.

I think what bothers me is that most of the descriptions Howard, de Camp, and Carter wrote gave Conan a square-cut deep black mane. This guy just doesn't have that look.
Oh and scars, Conan had loads of scars, though if this is "early" Conan I guess the scars might not be there yet.

pass.

I think that the MST3K classic Cave Dwellers with everyone's favorite barbarian/scientist Ator will be better than what this looks like so far!

At least he's got a sword that looks like a sword.

Not really what I envision Conan looking like either. While he is certainly "buff", I don't think he is big enough and he has a little too much of the Hollywood pretty boy look to be my favorite Cimmerian.

So they really feel the need to go and remake the old one with the new guy? Can't ANYONE write a new script here. If it makes more than $20 USD will they then remake Conan the Destroyer?

^^^Only if this remake makes at least $20. USD

The original included (at least in the glossing over way Hollywood always does these things) elements of the "first" Conan stories The Thing In The Crypt and The Tower Of The Elephant (more of the first, less of the second). So if they are going to try a reboot of the franchise, then those would be the stories to use.

I realize "Crypt" and "Elephant" might be among the first Conan stories, but if I were going to film one Conan story, and only one Conan story, it would have to be Queen of the Black Coast.

Mulligan

I kind of remember reading plenty of Conan stories where he wore armor of one type or another. It would be nice to see him wearing some in the movie… He was a pretty decent warrior and smart fighter.

Looks good to me – hopefully a franchise will spring from it. Gawd knows there are enough stories!

Too bad Danny Trejo isn't available

link

I saw this new "Conan" guy in Atlanta at a Cafe in Grant Park, he was hanging out with some other actor from that tv vampire show. I only know this because our Barkeep told us, all the girls in the place were freaked out. They left $10 USD bucks on a $110 USD bar tab. Stiff waitstaff/bartenders, I'll see the movie free bitt torrant style. Jerk

"Howard imagined the Cimmerians as a proto-Celtic people with mostly black hair and blue or grey eyes"
"Conan has "sullen" or "smoldering" blue eyes and a black "square-cut mane". Howard once describes him as having a hairy chest and, while comic book interpretations often portray Conan as wearing a loincloth or other minimalist clothing, Howard describes the character as wearing whatever garb is typical for the land and culture in which Conan finds himself."

The casting of Conan in the new film is junk. I won't watch it

I would have cast someone like Mads Mikkelsen with his hair dyed black

picture

"So they really feel the need to go and remake the old one with the new guy? Can't ANYONE write a new script here. If it makes more than $20- USD will they then remake Conan the Destroyer?"

If it makes $20- then they've made back what they paid the script writer! <rimshot>

Would be interesting to see if they come out with a minis game though….

I think Jason Momoa will do well in this role. Really his role in Stargate fills a similar position from what I understand about Conan. He is unknown enough to not carry a ton of baggage, so brings a fresh new face to the series.

How Jason Momoa got the role? I assume he provided nasty personal services to the casting director. He certainly is not buff enough to be the Conan of Robert E. Howard's stories.

Did anyone try casting Tommy Wiseau? Kidding, kidding…

(Although I could just see it: "Oh hi, Thoth-Amon. Let's play some football." )

Well they were going to make the Red Sonja movie first. They decided to do Conan as a back story first.

Well at LEAST we can all agree that the new Soundtrack will not be nearly as good as that of the first film!

It's not like there was any acting to speak of in Arnies version.

casting aside, I think the problem with the new movie isnt the actor. From what I've read, the story is "conan" only in name. The producer and writers have again turned a blind eye on the plethora of material made by REH and have decided to film their own "conan".

link

Well, looks like they *might* have cast him using the Barry Windsor Smith version as inspiration:

barrywindsor-smith.com

I don't mind that though as I "grew up" with Conan during the BWS reign of illustration. Arnold was more of the John Buscema type:

link

Actually, my formative Conan years were during both artist's tenure's, but I just prefer BWS imagery.

:?)
Wolf

He looks more Tarzan to me with that long wavy hair. Think i'll rent the DVD. Shouldn't be too long a wait.

^^^Yeah, it will be at the local dollar theater about four weeks after its release.

All of the sudden the whole "Wilt Chamberlain defending a virgin's honor" doesn't seem as unplausible as it use to.

The hard part is getting movies like this not to look like a bunch of Larpers running around in the woods.

Man, sure are a lot of people here judging the movie before the first trailer is even out…

^^^^That's what we get paid to do.

Conan first appeared in the pulp magazine Weird Tales back in the 1930's. That is the only Conan. All others by Buscema, Smith, etc, are only that artists concept of REH's character Conan. That goes for the filmed versions as well. And since the Conan character in Weird Tales is only described, not illustrated, any individuals concept is valid. Yes, I know that there are some interior illustrations, and at least one cover illustration in Weird Tales, but they are still only an artists concept and probably didn't need to be approved by Howard. So any argument here in the alleged pulp group regarding how Conan looks can only be an opinion with no way to back it up.

Does the character match the descriptions the original author used?

If so, close enough.

If not, Hollyweird…

Gracias,

Glenn

I believe the "first" actual illustration of Conan was the famous Weird Tales cover for "Queen of the Black Coast" by Margaret Brundage, which is quite different from the depictions of later comic book artists who were inspired by Frank Frazetta. (I found it shocking that nobody mentioned Frazetta in the earlier postings in this thread. If anybody created the archetypal images that most of us think of as snapshots of Cimmeria, it was the late, great Frazetta.) Actually, I like Mark Shultz's, leaner, more realistic version of Conan too. I frankly would prefer to see a leaner, more pantherish, and less-body-builder-style Conan: a little more Viggo and a little less Arnold. Having said that, I always assumed that when it came time to make a new Conan movie, The Rock would probably be the best choice to play him.

Mulligan