Entertainment
Jason Momoa’s $90 Million Failed Fantasy Invades New Streaming Home
The spark in Jason Momoa didn’t go unnoticed by anybody when he delivered a breakthrough performance in the first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Mere months later, Momoa was given his first starring vehicle as a Hollywood leading man, with the fantasy remake of Conan the Barbarian. While that film flopped miserably, Momoa has lived up to the initial promise he showed in major roles in the DC Extended Universe and, most recently, in the $950 million-grossing blockbuster A Minecraft Movie. This year, he also cashed in his goodwill with the very expensive passion project Chief of War, which debuted on Apple TV. You can now watch Momoa’s Conan the Barbarian remake on the free Tubi streaming service beginning December 1.
Released in 2011, Conan the Barbarian was the attempted reboot of the fantasy franchise that began with John Milius‘ epic 1982 hit of the same name, which launched Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s career as a major Hollywood star. Momoa would’ve expected some of that same good luck to rub off on him, but the movie opened to terrible reviews and was trashed by critics. It’s now sitting at a 25% score on Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “While its relentless, gory violence is more faithful to the Robert E. Howard books, Conan the Barbarian forsakes three-dimensional characters, dialogue, and acting in favor of unnecessary 3D effects.” Produced on a reported budget of $90 million, Conan the Barbarian grossed only $63 million worldwide. Marcus Nispel directed the movie, and also featured Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, and Ron Perlman in supporting roles.
Jason Momoa Has Major Projects Lined Up
According to Momoa himself, the studio took over the movie and re-edited it into somethinghe didn’t fully support. In an interview with GQ some years ago, he said, “I’ve been a part of a lot of things that really sucked, and movies where it’s out of your hands. Conan [the Barbarian] was one of them. It’s one of the best experiences I had, and it [was] taken over and turned into a big pile of s**t.” A new reboot of the franchise was being set up at Netflix with Robert Rodriguez attached, but he said that the streamer let the rights lapse. Momoa, on the other hand, has a host of major projects lined up. He’ll return to play the scene-stealing Duncan Idaho in Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune: Part Three; he will debut as Lobo in Supergirl, and will appear in the star-studded video game adaptation Street Fighter. You can watch Conan the Barbarian on Tubi this December, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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August 17, 2011
- Runtime
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113 minutes
- Director
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Marcus Nispel
- Writers
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Sean Hood, Thomas Dean Donnelly
- Producers
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Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Joe Gatta, John Sacchi, Henry Winterstern, Fredrik Malmberg, Eda Kowan, Victor Hadida, Samuel Hadida, Boaz Davidson, Michael Paseornek, Les Weldon, John Baldecchi, Jason Constantine, George Furla, Danny Lerner, Danny Dimbort
