In a recent interview with GQ, Jason Momoa claimed that making Conan the Barbarian was one of his “best experiences” but that the process was wrecked in post-production. He claims there are movies that get “taken out of [you are] hands” and turned into a “huge pile of s***,” however, he is not very specific about what he believes was modified following the main photography of Marcus Nispel-directed movie. After years of acting in shows like Baywatch: Hawaii and Stargate Atlantis, he was set to star in a movie that was once intended to be his star vehicle. Even more candidly, Jason Momoa acknowledges that he has starred in a number of films that “truly sucked,” which is somewhat of a jab at many of his previous colleagues.
In an attempt to revive the long-running adventures of Robert E. Howard’s most well-known character, Conan the Barbarian stars Jason Momoa as the titular character. A teenage Arnold Schwarzenegger played Conan in his own 1982 breakthrough role and its 1984 sequel Conan the Destroyer. It makes sense that Jason Momoa was hoping it would help another big, bulky man become a celebrity, but the film was a complete failure, earning just over $63 million on a $90 million budget. Additionally receiving negative reviews, it currently has a dismal 25% on Rotten Tomatoes.
While Jason Momoa may put the blame for Conan the Barbarian’s box office and critical failure on the post-production process, the movie actually had a grueling production schedule. There were numerous attempts to develop a new Conan project after efforts to bring Arnold Schwarzenegger back were thwarted by his election to the highest executive post of one of the biggest economies in the world, which were probably distracting. It can’t be a good sign that Brett Ratner violently denied directing it when The Wachowskis, Robert Rodriguez, and original screenwriter John Milius were all engaged at various points and worked on multiple draughts of the script.
Fortunately for Jason Momoa, he would soon be chosen to play Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe. While the early Jason Momoa films weren’t very well received, his standalone picture in 2018 went on to become the DCEU’s highest-grossing release to date.
Source: Giant Freakin Robot
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