10 Things to Know About 'Conan The Destroyer' (1984)

Conan the Destroyer was released on June 29th, 1984. A lengthy production battle delayed the launch of the sequel as Executive Producer Dino De Laurentiis battled Conan the Barbarian director John Milius over creative control of the franchise and the film morphed from an R-Rated adventure to a family friendly follow up to an R-Rated adventure.

That’s certainly a strange road to go down but there are many strange detours along the road of Conan the Destroyer and we’ve compiled those detours into an internet friendly Top 10 List.

10 Things to Know About Conan the Destroyer.

10 Arnold Schwarzenegger was Big but director Richard Fleischer Said He Wasn’t Big Enough

Arnold Schwarzenegger has always been massively muscled but even he can be bigger, apparently. Director Richard Fleischer met with Schwarzenegger early in pre-production and asked Arnold to put on 15 pounds of muscle so he’d look more like the cartoon version of Conan. Nevermind that he’d already portrayed the character in Conan the Barbarian.

9 Sarah Douglas Turned Down the Role of Taramis 6 times before finally accepting the role

Sarah Douglas, fresh off of her role in Superman 2 and on TV’s Falcon Crest, where her villainess gleaming eyes became a top draw for viewers, was offered the lead villain role in Conan the Destroyer six times and said no each time. It wasn’t until she learned that Grace Jones had joined the cast that Douglas finally accepted the role. She said she was intrigued by Jones’ reputation for ‘crashing out in England’ and ‘many wild parties and antics.”

8 Douglas’ Sharp Wit Was on Display in the Conan Press Tour

Fans of TV’s Falcon Crest were well aware of Sarah Douglas’s sharp and precise wit but whether that translated to her Conan the Destroyer co-stars isn’t known. What we do know is in press interviews promoting the film Douglas was on fire. In one interview Douglas referred to herself as ‘the token actress’ in Conan the Destroyer. Later she laughs about first meeting Wilt Chamberlain and asking if he was the one who played ‘netball,’ which, according to Douglas, is what the English called Women’s Basketball.

7 “It’s him or me”

Writer, director, producer, John Milius has gone to war many times in Hollywood and likely won more fights than he lost. That said, Milius definitely lost to Dino de Laurentiis. We know this because Milius did not direct Conan the Destroyer but we know for sure that the film was ‘A Dino de Laurentiis Presentation ', that’s on the poster.

What were they fighting about? It was the rating for Conan the Destroyer. Milius wanted to make another R-Rated blood and guts, head-chopping Conan movie and De Laurentiis wanted a PG adventure capable of selling tickets to the family audience. According to reports in contemporary trade magazines, Milius took his disagreement to Universal Pictures who sided with De Laurentiis.

History does vindicate Milius at the box office as Conan the Destroyer made half the money of Conan the Barbarian. So, perhaps, in a way, Milius did win this one.

6 Arnold Schwarzenegger sided With Milius

By all accounts, Arnold Schwarzenegger sided with Milius in wanting to make an R-Rated Conan sequel. That said, this was Arnold before Arnold. This is before Terminator, before Commando, and before Predator. Despite the success of Conan the Barbarian, Arnold didn’t have the clout that he undeniably earned later in the decade.

5 Grace Jones Handed the Role of Zula

Grace Jones didn’t screen test or audition for the role of Zula in Conan the Destroyer. According to Jones, Arnold Schwarzenegger saw her feature length modeling, music video, One Man Show, and sought her for the role. One meeting with director Richard Fleischer later, Jones was cast and then the trouble began.

4 Grace Jones was a problem on set

By her own admission, Grace Jones is a handful. She’s intimidating, even when she’s not trying to be, and she keeps her own time, meaning she was late to the set nearly every day, driving cast and crew collectively up the wall. Notably, Jones says she and Wilt Chamberlain did not get along while making the film but did squash their beef when filming wrapped. Jones was more eager however to impress Schwarzenegger and make sure the world knew that she and Arnold got along great, despite reports to the contrary.

3 Both Grace Jones and Wilt Chamberlain Injured Extras During Fight Scenes

Speaking to the Associated Press in July of 1984, Arnold Schwarzenegger praised his co-stars, Grace Jones and Wilt Chamberlain while admitting that both were kind of ‘nuts’ in Arnold’s estimation. He then confirmed set rumors regarding injured extras and stunt personnel stating that both Wilt and Grace had hurt people on set due to their deeply committed performances. Wilt was unfamiliar with stage fighting and often swung his sword with full force. Jones, meanwhile, loved her weapon, a giant stick, and knocked over a few people while playing with her new toy.

2 Wrestling Legend Andre the Giant

Just a few years before he made his supposed film debut as Fezzik in The Princess Bride, wrestling legend Andre the Giant made an uncredited cameo in Conan the Destroyer. Under heavy prosthetics, Andre plays Dagoth, the final boss of monsters in the movie. Andre happened to be in Mexico at the time for a wrestling tour and was available for the last second uncredited cameo. The role sparked a real life friendship and inspired Schwarzenegger to become a genuine fan of professional wrestling.

1 There was supposed to be a third Conan movie

On the set of Conan the Destroyer, Dino De Laurentiis told Arnold Schwarzenegger to get ready for a third Conan movie because they were going to make it as soon as possible. Now, we know that never happened but it came close. In the end, Schwarzenegger shot to super stardom after Terminator, Commando, and Predator and became one of the most in-demand actors in the world.

By the time De Laurentiis was ready to proceed with Conan 3, Schwarzenegger simply wasn’t available. What was to be Conan 3 then became a movie called Kull the Conqueror, an early vehicle for Hercules star Kevin Sorbo. Hercules, ironically, the inspiration for Conan the Barbarian.