Arnold Schwarzenegger Named The Sequel He Still Wants To Make (And It's A Big Missed Opportunity)

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Arnold Schwarzenegger is about as legendary as they come in Hollywood. From his days as a bodybuilder to becoming a breakout star in "The Terminator," his career is fascinating. It's also been rather lucrative, with many of his movies giving rise to big franchises with multiple sequels. But with the actor now much closer to 80 than he is 70, his career as an action star is winding down. So, which of his movies does he wish had more sequels? The answer is both unsurprising and also a reminder of a profound missed opportunity.

In a recent interview with Collider, Schwarzenegger was promoting the release of "Fubar" season 2 on Netflix. Touching on sequels he hasn't made or wished he'd made, he talked about the long-awaited "Twins" sequel, which sounds like it might still be happening after previously being scrapped. After that, he shifted his attention to the "Conan the Barbarian" property and the "King Conan" movie that never was. Here's what he had to say about it:

"Sometimes, I wish that we could do more Conan sequels, because I think that if you have the right director and the right writing, there could be a really, really good franchise to continue King Conan and stuff like that."

A third "Conan" movie starring Schwarzenegger has been floated for literally decades. Officially speaking, it goes back to at least 2012, at which point "The Legend of Conan" was being developed by writer Chris Morgan ("Fast & Furious). Ultimately, though, that project fell apart after spending years stuck in early development. It seemingly remains a regret for Schwarzenegger all these years later, and it's not difficult to see why. Unlike many sequels, which come across as pointless cash grabs, the notion of following King Conan on an adventure in his later years has always seemed like it had a lot of juice. Sadly, however, it now appears increasingly likely it's never going to happen.

As you may recall, 1982's "Conan the Barbarian" (which introduced Schwarzenegger's Cimmerian warrior to the screen) ended by showing us an image of an aged up Conan decades in the future sitting on a throne, thus teasing "King Conan." When the film wound up gaining traction (under a different title) in 2012, it felt perfect. Schwarzenegger was still in great shape and had returned to Hollywood after his run as Governor of California. The idea of an older, grizzled Schwarzenegger returning to one of the roles that helped make him famous all these years later was tantalizing.

"The Legend of Conan" had previously been likened to Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven," one of the best Westerns ever made. That only served to add to the intrigue regarding the project. So, what got in the way? Why didn't this actually happen? Schwarzenegger chalked it up to issues involving the "Conan" rights in 2019. That can often be a thorn in the side of a proposed sequel and/or reboot such as this. Unfortunately, with the action hero sitting at 77 years old, the likelihood of this ever coming to fruition seems beyond slim now. The time simply may have passed.

What's frustrating is that Schwarzenegger has a real passion for it. Seeing him return as the Terminator again and again wore thin for audiences after a while, largely because the creatives behind that franchise struggled to come up with compelling reasons why it needed to keep happening. A film centered on King Conan, on the other hand, absolutely makes sense and has a reason to exist. Sure, the 1984 sequel "Conan the Destroyer" wasn't nearly as beloved as its predecessor, but the notion of going gritty à la a Clint Eastwood Western sounds like a great pitch.

Back in 2020, Netflix was reported to be developing a new "Conan the Barbarian" TV series, but nothing ever came of it. Who knows? If the "Conan" rights issues can be worked out, maybe Schwarzenegger can still do it. Or perhaps the film could be re-imagined as an animated movie so that Schwarzenegger's physicality is no longer a concern. But until that happens, this remains a tragic entry in the annals of "What if?" cinema history.

You can pick up "Conan the Barbarian" on 4K Ultra HD from Amazon.