So the last that most of us had heard from action-director John McTiernan was that there was the very real possibility that he was about to be incarcerated for four months — however pesky little details like prison time have never stopped the rumor mill before; so why start now? Ain’t It Cool News reports a rumor that originated on the French film site Mad Movies, that Nu Image has McTiernan at the top of their wish-list of directors for their new spin on the Conan franchise. According to the article (and what I could make out with my high school French), Nu Image wants to entrust their fledgling trilogy to the man behind some of the best (and worst) action films of the last 20 years. With a projected budget of $80 million, it makes sense that Nu Image would want an action vet like McTiernan behind the camera.
Back in June, Christopher reported that New Line had snagged the rights to the franchise from Warner Bros. But as we all know, that was not to last, and by August Millennium Films had secured the rights to revive the franchise. There are still plenty of unanswered questions when it comes to the Conan remake, though it has already been confirmed that the film is going to go with an entirely new approach. So far, the buzz has Gerard Butler (300) in the lead to take over the part, but like so much surrounding the film it’s only a rumor at this point. So in the midst of all this speculation, stay tuned to Cinematical for any official updates that come our way.