Stockholm, 2012-10-26 08:36 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Universal Studios has announced that they will make a new Conan movie, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger returns in the role of Conan. Universal and Paradox are in agreement on the material deal terms. The development of the movie, with working title “The Legend of Conan”, has been fast-tracked for a planned summer 2014 release. Chris Morgan (“Wanted”, “Ronin 47”) is currently working on the screenplay.
“I always loved the Conan character and I'm honored to be asked to step into the role once again. I can't wait to work with Universal and the great team of Fredrik Malmberg and Chris Morgan to develop the next step of this truly epic story,” said Schwarzenegger.
Fredrik Malmberg, President and CEO of Paradox Entertainment, and Chris Morgan will produce the movie. Universal’s Co-President of Production Jeff Kirschenbaum will oversee the project for the studio.
“I’m very excited to partner with Universal Studios on building the Conan brand into an even bigger worldwide franchise,” said Fredrik Malmberg.
Signing with Universal brings Conan back to its former home as the studio made the 1982 and 1984 Conan movies, which started Schwarzenegger’s acting career. The first Conan movie also spawned a hugely popular 20-minute live-action stage show at Universal Studios Hollywood that ran from 1983 to 1993.
The deal follows industry standard structure with fees for movie and sequel options, followed by a producer and a rights fee at the start of each production. Paradox will get a customary moderate share of the back-end after each movie has reached cash break-even. Paradox retains the rights for movie-based and classic merchandise, sharing part of the revenues with Universal. A positive trend in that revenue stream is expected, but it is still too early to give any projections and is dependent on the success of each movie. The first movie is expected to have a budget of more than 100 MUSD.
Conan was created in the 1930s by pulp-era author Robert E. Howard and is one of the most iconic characters in popular culture. The world of Conan has since been expanded by authors, artists and other creators in categories such as motion pictures, television, novels, video- and online games, comic books, collectibles, toys, apparel and much more.
About Paradox Entertainment
Paradox Entertainment manages and develops global entertainment franchises by generating licensing revenue in all forms of media including motion picture, television, gaming, publishing and toy industries. The Company also acts as licensing agent for property owners like Starz and BBC. The shares of parent company Paradox Entertainment AB (PDXE, SE0000598054) are quoted on NASDAQ OMX, in the First North Premier segment. Erik Penser Bankaktiebolag acts as Certified Adviser. Read more about Paradox Entertainment on http://www.paradoxent.com.
Fredrik Malmberg
President & CEO
Tel: +1 (323) 655-1700, Mob: +1 (310) 663-3214
E-mail: fmalmberg@paradoxent.com
Joakim Zetterberg
Director of Licensing / Investor Relations
Tel: +1 (323) 655-1708, Mob: +1 (310) 623-2918
E-mail: jzetterberg@paradoxent.com