This Legendary Fantasy Author Also Wrote Westerns - But Hollywood Keeps Ignoring Them

Author Robert E. Howard is probably best known for his stories featuring the violent Cimmerian, Conan. Conan is a barbarian, a fighter, and a general adventuring rogue who, over the course of many stories, rises to become the king of the fictional realm of Aquilonia. The first published Conan story was "The Phoenix and the Sword," which ran in a 1932 issue of "Weird Tales." Numerous additional Conan stories ran in "Weird Tales" through to 1936. These were later added to a panoply of fantasy stories that Howard wrote during his career, including a series of Solomon Kane tales, the chronicles of the conqueror Kull, and epics about Bran Mak Morn, the king of the Picts.

Of course, most people likely know the Conan character the best thanks to the 1982 blockbuster movie "Conan the Barbarian" (an Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle that may yet get a legacy sequel).

One might assume that the bulk of Howard's work was of the historical adventure/fantasy variety, but he actually explored many genres in his career. Indeed, he also published horror stories, tales set in H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos, werewolf stories, detective stories, comedy tales, and ribald, sexy stories. Heck, Howard even wrote multiple volumes of sports fiction, all about boxers. Several of his works are in the public domain, so sniff around online to read them.

On top of all that, Howard was fond of Westerns and wrote dozens of cowboy adventures. His most utilized Western hero was the none-too-bright cowboy Breckinridge Elkins, although he has many other Western heroes in his personal canon. Moreover, Howard penned several "weird west" tales that blend cowboys and gunslingers with fantasy creatures and/or monsters.

Given the breadth of his bibliography, then, it's baffling that Hollywood hasn't delved more deeply into Howard's literature for inspiration, especially his Westerns.

To date, there have been relatively few projects made based on the work of Robert E. Howard. There was 1982's "Conan the Barbarian," of course, along with its follow-up "Conan the Destroyer," which came out in 1984. There was also the disastrous 2011 "Conan the Barbarian" movie remake starring Jason Momoa, as well as "Conan the Adventurer," an animated series that debuted in 1992 and ran for two seasons. The latter even received a sequel series titled "Conan and the Young Warriors" (which only aired for a single season in 1994), prior to Ralf Moeller portraying Conan in a live-action series titled "Conan: The Adventurer," aka "Conan" (which similarly lasted just one season after premiering in 1997).

Notably, some of Howard's non-Conan stories have been adapted before as well. For example, the Kevin Sorbo-starring film "Kull the Conqueror" was released in 1997, although fewer folks will likely remember the James Purefoy-led "Solomon Kane" movie that first hit international theaters in 2009. And fewer still are probably familiar with the 1960s anthology TV series "Thriller," which features an episode based on Howard's story "Pigeons from Hell."

But that's kind of it for film and TV. As far as Hollywood is concerned, Howard is primarily "the Conan guy," and his extant bibliography has been left untouched. It's baffling that the industry would do this, given that his many other stories are ripe for adaptation, especially his Westerns. Heck, in one way or another, Howard's pulpy, adventurous literature has already inspired numerous Hollywood classics. (One can bet Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have read Howard's stories). So, why not just go back to the source and start adapting again?

Okay, so maybe "Kull the Conqueror" wasn't a big hit in 1997. (It was critically derided and only grossed a small fraction of its $35 million budget in theaters.) And maybe no one really cared about "Solomon Kane," either. But is that reason enough to abandon a whole author? One can look up Robert E. Howard's bibliography and find at least a dozen star characters and/or settings that could play host to an entire cinematic franchise.

I could see some charming lunkhead actor — maybe Kevin Durand? — playing Howard's Breckinridge Elkins character. He also created Western protagonists like Pike Bearfield, Buckner Jeopardy Grimes (that name!), and the Sonora Kid. And those are just his re-used characters. In addition, Howard wrote many standalone Western stories that could perhaps open Hollywood's eyes. When was the last time U.S. audiences got to see a proper, big-budget Western adventure movie? And don't say "The Lone Ranger." I said "proper," not "sucky."

From there, Hollywood could start exploring Howard's detective characters. Get some old-fashioned noir back in our systems. One could imagine Blumhouse perhaps adapting some of Howard's horror stories. A throwback ribald comedy could even be made from his works. And why not make some low-budget boxing dramas for good measure? Heck, Hollywood could adapt nothing but Howard's works for two or three straight years and still provide filmgoers with widespread genre excitement and endless variety. Heck, a lot of Howard's stories are in the public domain, so the rights aren't an issue, either.

In summation: Maybe it's time to start ignoring the stale franchises that Hollywood has been milking for too long and go back to the kind of pulp adventures that've been informing and birthing said franchises for nearly a century. It's only logical.