Arnold Schwarzenegger Excited to Return for New 'Conan the Barbarian' Sequel

Thirty-three years after Conan the Barbarian and 31 since the sequel Conan the Destroyer came out, Arnold Schwarzenegger is excited to dust off that old loincloth once more.

Yes, Schwarzenegger, 67, will once again play the sword-swinging Conan character in a new film that is not a reboot, not a spin-off, but a true sequel to the gritty, violent 1982 film Conan the Barbarian.

According to an interview with the website TheArnoldFans.com, The Legend of Conan would take place 30 years after Conan the Barbarian and would also feature the return of several characters from that film.

In a written statement posted on the site, Schwarzenegger said he had wanted to make a new Conan sequel for years.

“I’ve tried to convince them now for 20 years to go back and continue with the Conan series and they were not as enthusiastic as I was,” he said in the statement. “But then later, new management came in at Universal and they saw it entirely differently. They came to me right away and said they want to pick up the Conan series.”

The website also features an interview with Chris Morgan, the film’s co-writer and producer, who says the film will be dark and mature. “Think Unforgiven with a sword-wielding barbarian,” said Morgan, who has also written many of the Fast & Furious sequels.

“I’m really excited to be working on this – to do another Conan movie, and hopefully it will be soon!” Schwarzenegger said. “It is the greatest honor to be 67 years old and to still be asked to come back into all those franchises.”

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That’s not the only hit franchise Schwarzenegger is revisiting. He’s also returned for the upcoming sequel Terminator: Genisys, and told PEOPLE the experience was “like riding a bicycle.”