Toning down the violence

When John Milius, director of Conan the Barbarian, was unavailable, Dino De Laurentiis suggested Richard Fleischer to his daughter Raffaella De Laurentiis, who was producing Conan the Destroyer. Fleischer had already made Barabbas (1961) and Mandingo (1975) for Dino De Laurentiis.

Conan the Barbarian made about $40 million at the U.S. box office when it was released in 1982 with an R-rating, and an additional $50 million in other markets. Because Universal Pictures and producer Dino De Laurentiis thought it would have been even more successful if it had been less violent, they wanted to tone down the violence in the sequel. Conan the Destroyer originally received an R-rating like its predecessor, but the film was recut to secure a PG-rating. Fleischer delivered a movie that was less violent (and somewhat more humorous) than the first, although some scenes of violence have bloody results (the PG-13 rating did not exist until July 1 of that same year). Carlo Rambaldi created the Dagoth monster.

Casting

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mako Iwamatsu, who played the Wizard of the Mound and narrator in the first film, return for the second film, while Mako's character is now named Akiro. Sven-Ole Thorsen, who played Thorgrim in the first film, also returned, but this time he had to partially cover his face with a mask, as he was playing a different character. Singer Grace Jones played the warrior Zula, the last of her tribe. This was the basketball player Wilt Chamberlain's only film role and the debut of Olivia d'Abo, who played the petulant teenaged princess.^[3] David Lander was originally cast to play the foolish thief Malak, but due to his deteriorating health from the onset of multiple sclerosis, he was forced to quit the project, and the part was recast with Tracey Walter. Professional wrestler Pat Roach, who memorably played the German Mechanic in Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Thuggee Overseer in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, was cast as crystal palace Man Ape/sorcerer Toth-Amon.^[4] André the Giant had an uncredited role as the Dagoth monster.^[5]

Photography

Conan the Destroyer was the fourth film on which British director of photography Jack Cardiff worked with Fleischer. Cardiff had already photographed The Vikings (1958), Crossed Swords (1977), and Amityville 3-D (1983) for the director. They worked together twice more on Million Dollar Mystery (1987), and Fleischer's last film, the short Call from Space (1989), which was shot in the 65-mm Showscan process. Cardiff's other notable films include John Huston's The African Queen (1951), King Vidor's War and Peace (1956), and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985).

Filming

Shooting took place in Mexico City from November 1, 1983, to February 10, 1984.^[3]

Deleted scenes

To secure a PG rating, Sarah Douglas said several scenes involving her character were cut, including a sex scene with Schwarzenegger, slapping Chamberlain, a virgin sacrifice, and the seduction of a statue.^[6]

Box office

Conan the Destroyer grossed $31 million in the U.S.^[2] Schwarzenegger, Fleischer, and De Laurentiis subsequently teamed up again to make Red Sonja a year later. The film, jointly with Bolero, was nominated for two Razzie Awards, including Worst Supporting Actress and won Worst New Star for D'Abo during the 5th Golden Raspberry Awards.^[7]

Critical response

Roger Ebert rated the film 3 out of 4 stars and wrote that Conan the Destroyer is "sillier, funnier, and more entertaining" than the first film. In praising the film's use of character actors, Ebert singled out Jones, who he said brings rock star charisma to her role.^[8] Variety called it "the ideal sword and sorcery picture" and also praised Jones.^[9] Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that Schwarzenegger struggles with the film's more comedic tone.^[10]

Colin Greenland reviewed Conan the Destroyer for Imagine magazine, and stated that "Apart from the fact that it is acted by real people, Conan the Destroyer is pure comicbook, which has the odd effect of making the actual animated comicbook largely superfluous."^[11]

Rotten Tomatoes, which collects both contemporary and modern reviews, reports that 26% of 27 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 4.4/10. The site's consensus states: "Conan the Destroyer softens the edges that gave its predecessor gravitas, resulting in a campy sequel without the comparative thrills."^[12] At Metacritic the film received a score of 53 out of 100, based on 12 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[13]

Comic books and graphic novel

Marvel Comics published a comic-book adaptation of the film by writer Michael Fleisher and artist John Buscema in Marvel Super Special #35 (Dec. 1984).^[14] The adaptation was also available as a two-issue limited series.^[15]

Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway wrote the original story treatment but were dissastified with the final screenplay by Stanley Mann and the finished film. They made their story into the graphic novel Conan the Barbarian: The Horn of Azoth, published in 1990, with art by Mike Docherty.^[16] The names of the characters were changed to distance the graphic novel from the movie: Dagoth became Azoth, Jehnna became Natari, Zula became Shumballa, Bombaata became Strabo, Thoth-Amon became Rammon, and the characters of Queen Taramis and The Leader were combined into sorcerer Karanthes, father of Natari.

Novelization

Robert Jordan wrote a novelization of the film in 1984 for Tor Books.

Sequel

The third film in the Conan trilogy had been planned for a 1987 release with the title Conan the Conqueror. The director was to have been either Guy Hamilton or John Guillermin. Arnold Schwarzenegger was committed to the film Predator, and De Laurentiis's contract with the star had expired after his obligation to Red Sonja (his role in which was originally intended to be Conan) and Raw Deal, and he was not keen to negotiate a new one. The third Conan film fell into development hell, the script eventually being turned into Kull the Conqueror.^[17][18]

In October 2012, Universal Pictures announced plans for Schwarzenegger to return to the role of Conan for the film The Legend of Conan. The planned story was a direct sequel to the original film, "bypassing" Conan the Destroyer and the 2011 film starring Jason Momoa.^[19][20] In the years following the announcement, Will Beall, Andrea Berloff, and producer Chris Morgan worked on the script, and Schwarzenegger expressed enthusiasm for the project, affirming plans to star in the film.^{[21][22][23][24][25]} However, in April 2017, Morgan stated that Universal had dropped the project, but that there remains a possibility of a television series.^[26] In October 2019, Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed that the film was still in active development, now called Conan the King.^[27]

In popular culture

Kim Wayans' spoof portrayals of Grace Jones on the show In Living Color are based on Grace's performance of Zula in Conan the Destroyer. In 1985, Australian heavy metal music group Prowler changed its name to Taramis after the character from the film.^[28]