Conan the Screenwriter? 'Barbarian' Star Reveals Sequel Treatment

The summer movie season is winding down. All of the major studio tent poles have hit the theaters, and the films releasing in the remainder of August are seen as just catching the very end of the summer box office heat. One of the films hoping to capitalize on the last of the summer momentum is Lionsgate Studio's release of "Conan the Barbarian." This action fantasy film is one of the few R-rated summer movies released this year and hopes to grab at the audience who misses the days of bloodier action stories.

The titular character is played by TV veteran Jason Momoa. In a recent interview with Crave Online, the actor was extremely enthusiastic about the film, so much so that he personally has written a script for a sequel. Momoa indicated a few of the directions in which he would like to see the franchise go. When asked about whether his script is based off of any of the existing Conan stories written by creator Robert E. Howard or any of the other assorted authors, he responded it is "character adapted." He later clarified by saying "you don't just want to do the [existing] story, because the fans already know it," but he felt he stayed true to the character.

Momoa put emphasis on wanting to put particular focus on the villain; by the time a sequel happens, Conan himself will be well-established. The star also said he hoped they could integrate more mythical creatures. This was something the makers had to cut back on for the first film due to budget and, Momoa said, also to avoid appearing too much like "Clash of the Titans," which was released while the film was shooting. One can't help but wonder if that will be a concern again since any sequel to "Conan the Barbarian" will likely be released within a year or so of the proposed "Clash of the Titans" sequel.

It's important to stress that none of this is any indication of a sequel or even what direction a sequel would take should there be one. Momoa is naturally signed to a multi-picture deal, but that is standard for any film that could potentially become a franchise. There's no obligation on the part of the studio to actually make more movies if it doesn't want to. It will first come down to whether or not the upcoming film does well enough to warrant a sequel. Even if that does happen, Momoa's script may not be part of a second film.

Momoa writing an unsolicited script certainly shows his enthusiasm for the character and the franchise. The actor has done some writing for the screen before, but as yet his only credit is a 15 minute short film which he also directed and starred in titled "Brown Bag Diaries: Ridin' the Blinds in B Minor." Even if Lionsgate does go ahead with a sequel and likes the ideas Momoa put into his script, it's likely Lionsgate would bring in a more established screenwriter to work off of the actor's story ideas.

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