Conan the Barbarian rages onto Netflix for beefy live-action series

Pick up that sword and don that leather vest: Conan the Barbarian is coming back to the screen.

The iconic Robert E. Howard character is getting the Netflix treatment, according to Deadline, which describes the streamer's Conan the Barbarian development plan as producing an "epic live-action series." Likely in a bit of a different vein than Conan's most famous on-screen roles, wherein Arnold Schwarzenegger played him in two '80s movies, this series may be coming after the streamer saw success with its adaptation of The Witcher — a similar genre companion to the pulp adventurer.

Recently, the character has been exploring prolific adventures across media like video games and comics, with a previous live-action series developed over at Amazon back in 2018. That series (from Colony co-creator Ryan Condal) didn't come to fruition, which means it's Netflix's turn to try. And it's just the first step in an optioning deal struck between the streamer and Conan Properties International, which will see Netflix have the exclusive option rights to the Conan library. Perhaps this could see the birth of an entire Conan universe — there's plenty to adapt out there, as fans well know.

Currently, the first series is still looking for its showrunner and director — and, presumably, its Conan. Basically, it has some producers and the rights but not much else. No word yet on when Conan the Barbarian is expected to hit Netflix.