Jason Momoa of Stargate Atlantis is the new Conan in The Barbarian reboot. The 6’5″ actor beat the out other the other favoured candidate Kellen Lutz of Twilight fame after displaying some sword wielding skills that wowed director Marcus Nispel.
I’m torn about this casting as I have found Momoa’s acting to be a weak point of Stargate Atlantis. However, I will reserve my final judgment for the final film. Perhaps the biggest issue that fans of the previous movies that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger will have is that Jason Momoa does not have a large enough build to play the title character. The books on the hand (not the comics) have Conan with a more athletic type build.
Filming is slated to start in March in Bulgaria.
** Update ** Latino Review is reporting that an offer has gone out to Mickey Rourke to play the part of Conan’s father. Stay tuned as I’m sure there will be plenty of news on the way as the movie ramps up to full production.
Source: Deadline Hollywood
