Conan the Barbarian may soon find that what is best in life is offered by Amazon, as the services is reportedly developing a new series based on the famed character created by Robert E. Howard. The announcement comes after potential new entries in the film series based on the character have languished in development hell for years and, moreover, offers another example of Amazon Studio’s efforts to not only find the next Game of Thrones, but also produce genre TV series that have the potential to become blockbuster-sized hits.

Amazon made waves last year when it paid a handsome sum to acquire the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, with the intention of turning the property into a gargantuan (if we’re going purely by the pre-production price tag) production for the streaming service. And now it looks as though Conan will join the ranks in a new series from Colony co-creator Ryan Condal, as well as producer Warren Littlefield (Fargo, The Handmaid’s Tale). And, perhaps proving just how important a target Game of Thrones is for Amazon, the project also counts frequent GoT (and current Altered Carbon) director Miguel Sapochnik among those getting in on the ground floor.

As reported by Deadline, Condal intends to use the series to retell the character’s origin, reportedly sticking close to the adventures from the stories written by Howard, rather than turn to the films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the series’ primary inspiration or jumping off point. Given how the most recent attempt to revive the character on screen, with Jason Momoa in the title role turned out, getting the character’s origin right could help the series get off on the right foot with diehard fans.


Those fans may have been holding out hope for another big screen adaptation, possibly one that would see Schwarzenegger return to the role, as has been rumored for years now. But, like the reported Legend of Conan, a TV series has also been in the offing for quite some time, with the most concrete plans seemingly emerging in the spring of 2017. Now it appears that plans for the TV series have won the day — for the time being, anyway — as Amazon’s deep pockets and big ambitions will likely see some version of this project to fruition.

With a creative team in place and a home free from any restrictions with regard to both content and budget, this proposed Conan the Barbarian series is already off to a good start. With any luck there will be more news to report in the coming months, like the name of the actor who lands the lead role.