New Conan movie 2011
I gotta say, I'm looking forward to the new Conan movie. I've spent years wishing Schwarzenegger and Milius would live up to the promise of the closing credits of 'Barbarian' and 'Destroyer' and tell the story of how Conan tread the jeweled thrones of Aquilonia beneath his sandaled feet. However, it was never to be and after the mostly campy 'Destroyer' that was probably a good thing. Apparently a relative newcomer, Jason Momoa of 'Stargate Atlantis' fame is going to be playing the role of everybody's favorite Cimmerian. It wasn't too long ago that I got out my volumes of 'Conan' and started re-reading them. Yeah, Robert E. Howard wrote some pretty pulpy stuff. Conan is no well fleshed out character, in fact he's fairly two dimensional, however the stories have a sense of comic book adventure about them. They're not complex but they are engaging in much the same ways as the Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter of Mars books are engaging. It's all in the pulpy aspect. It's not great literature, it's simply a fun, quick read. So, I was skeptical that Momoa could play Conan. After all, when I think of Conan, I think of Frank Frazetta's paintings which have become the standard for what Conan should look like.
http://frankfrazettamuseum.com/prints.html#
In fact, Schwarzenegger's Conan pretty much looked almost exactly as Frazetta painted him. A muscle bound lantern-jawed thug of a barbarian, right down to, as Howard described it, "his volcanic blue eyes."
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/conan_schwarzenegger-thumb-550x350-19349.jpg
Well, it looks like Momoa has the muscles to play Conan after all, judging by this shot from the set of the movie.
http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/104127-more-shots-of-jason-momoa-as-conan
And hey, it looks like Ron Perlman will be putting in an appearance as well, but apparently not as Hellboy. I must say I'm intrigued and in fact looking forward to a new take on Howard's character. More than that, if Momoa can pull off a convincing Conan and the movie is good enough and epic enough, it could lead to more Conan movies which would definitely be a good thing.
http://frankfrazettamuseum.com/prints.html#
In fact, Schwarzenegger's Conan pretty much looked almost exactly as Frazetta painted him. A muscle bound lantern-jawed thug of a barbarian, right down to, as Howard described it, "his volcanic blue eyes."
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/conan_schwarzenegger-thumb-550x350-19349.jpg
Well, it looks like Momoa has the muscles to play Conan after all, judging by this shot from the set of the movie.
http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/104127-more-shots-of-jason-momoa-as-conan
And hey, it looks like Ron Perlman will be putting in an appearance as well, but apparently not as Hellboy. I must say I'm intrigued and in fact looking forward to a new take on Howard's character. More than that, if Momoa can pull off a convincing Conan and the movie is good enough and epic enough, it could lead to more Conan movies which would definitely be a good thing.