Thanks to a potential deal being cut with the WGA, Lionsgate is almost ready to kick off a new franchise for my friend and yours, Conan the Barbarian. Variety reports that the writing team of Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer (they made Sahara) are ready to get started on the script as soon as the WGA gives them the go-ahead. Production is set to begin as early as this fall.

Nu Image/Millennium, the company that bought the rights to the Conan franchise, is negotiating with the WGA for a special waiver like the one granted to United Artists, which would allow the film to go into production without breaking strike rules. The head of the studio, Avi Lerner, seems anxious to get the deal made but doesn’t really have the kindest words for the striking writers: ”It's a possibility, though I haven't studied it enough to make a final decision. The whole strike is stupid, in my opinion. They approached us, indirectly, to make some kind of deal, and we are looking at it." Way to burn your bridges before they’re even built!

Still, let’s focus on the positive! Conan the Barbarian is back! We can pretty much bet that Schwarzenegger won’t have much to do with it, though given that he’s been hinting at returning to movies, we shouldn’t rule out a cameo. I mean, as long as we’re doing cameos, what about the Spartans from 300? Alien and/or Predator? When you’re dealing with schlock to begin with, the possibilities for silliness are endless!