As part of its desire to build and expand as many in-house franchises and universes as possible, Netflix has developed a habit of acquiring the rights to some notable properties and then either proceeding to do absolutely nothing with them, or bungle them several times over.
It’s been half a decade since it picked up The Chronicles of Narnia and we’re still waiting for a development that goes beyond the tantalizing prospect of Barbie‘s Greta Gerwig directing, while the entire Millarworld fiasco has been a bit of a disaster since the streaming service spent over $30 million on the comic book company.
Floating around somewhere in the ether is Conan the Barbarian, with the announcement being made in September of 2020 that Netflix had secured exclusive rights for live-action and animated movies and TV shows based on the iconic Robert E. Howard character brought to unforgettable life by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his breakout role. However, since then, we’ve heard absolutely nothing.
That being said, it hasn’t been for a lack of trying, after Daredevil showrunner Steven DeKnight revealed he was planning to develop a Conan TV series for the platform prior to the dissolution of their working arrangement, and he’d have been perfect for it given his status as the creator of cult favorite sword-and-sandal saga Spartacus.
Nobody else can do anything with Conan the Barbarian unless Netflix signs off on it first, so we’ll just have to cross our fingers, twiddle our thumbs, and wait and see if we’ll ever get the chance to see a reboot crush its enemies, see them driven before it, and her the lamentations of its women.