Afraid of alienating fans of the 1982 Arnold Schwarzenegger original, the upcoming Marcus Nispel film has been titled Conan since its inception. Whether the studio has since gotten over its fears or is simply afraid that people will confuse it with a certain TBS late night program, though, the movie has finally been retitled to identify what it actually is: a remake. Box Office Mojo is reporting that the film, still scheduled to arrive in theaters next August, has been officially retitled Conan The Barbarian.
The truth of the matter is that this whole thing should have been done much sooner. Fans who don't want to see the film remade are not going to go just because two words are cut from the title and getting people to recognize your brand is marketing 101. Conan The Barbarian is familiar and known while Conan is vague and potentially misleading. The movie still may end up being a complete waste of time, but at least they will have gotten the title right.
