ARNOLD SIGNS AS A BARBARIAN & WESTERN CYBORG!"King Conan" and "Westworld" are greenlit! Reported By: René de Jong Thursday, March 14, 2002 At last Arnold fans, King Conan: Crown of Iron is officially becoming solidified as a WB film project and will no doubt continue as planned with it's 2005 shooting schedule. A bigger surprise, although Arnold had subtly teased us about it once before, is that he has also struck a deal with WB to do the remake of the Western sci-fi thriller Westworld! Although these movies are signed, it does not necessarily mean these two will immediately follow T3. It just means WB has made the deal for Arnold to eventually star and True Lies 2 is still most likely to follow T3. Here is the latest from Variety News: NEW YORK (Variety) - Already the centerpiece of the Warner Bros.-distributed "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," Arnold Schwarzenegger has committed to two more returning franchises at the studio. He has signed on to star in and produce the remake of the Michael Crichton-helmed 1973 sci-fi action thriller Westworld, while solidifying plans to reprise his role in the new Conan the Barbarian film currently being written by John Milius. The studio is also planning to develop other projects for Schwarzenegger, who recently starred in the WB terrorist thriller "Collateral Damage." Schwarzenegger is poised to reprise Yul Brynner's "Westworld" role of a robotic Old West gunman programmed to be slain by wannabe gunslinger tourists in a fantasy vacation. When the robot's circuits go awry, he becomes a real killing machine and hunts the visitors. "I am very excited to be working on 'Westworld,"' said Schwarzenegger. "I loved the original film when I saw it in 1973 and have wanted to remake it for several years. After following the project for some time, I am really thrilled it has finally come together at Warner Bros." WB president of worldwide production Lorenzo di Bonaventura called the deals with Schwarzenegger a "great credit to the studio. We couldn't be happier to present Arnold in the highly anticipated Terminator franchise, immediately followed by the remake of 'Westworld."' Schwarzenegger has also sparked to reprising his Conan role in a new picture that reteams him with Milius, who wrote the 1982 original with Oliver Stone. The rights came to WB in a deal put together by producers Jon Jashni, Irving Azoff and Richard Alexander with Stan Lee Media, which controlled the rights to the Robert E. Howard-created character. Lee is executive producing the pic, which will involve pairing Schwarzenegger with a younger swordsman. WB signed on for domestic distribution rights to "T3," the C2/Intermedia pic that is being directed by Jonathan Mostow. Schwarzenegger has whipped himself into cyborg shape, with production about to begin in Los Angeles. ---------- |