We may have our replacement Schwarzenegger. Lionsgate and Nu Image films have been on a search for a new, heavily-muscled badass to take over for Arnold as Conan in their upcoming remake of Conan the Barbarian. Risky Biz Blog says they’ve picked a muscle-head named Roland Kickinger. Here’s the fun part: This will be the second time he’s taken over a Schwarzenegger role. He played the T-800 in Terminator Salvation, with a little help from digital wizardry which made his face look like Arnold’s.
41-year-old Kickinger, much like Schwarzenegger, is a body builder turned actor and he’s even from a Central European accent which should mean, some sort of funny accent. He also portrayed Arnold as Conan in a re-enactment for the A&E documentary See Arnold Run. Basically for the past few years, pretty much all this guy has done is run around pretending to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is like casting a Marilyn Monroe impersonator in a remake of Some Like it Hot, except at playing Conan doesn’t really require any acting ability which means as long as the guy can talk funny and flex his muscles, Conan the Barbarian Take 2 should be fine.
Schwarzenegger
Kickinger
UPDATE! Latino Review claims Risky Business's casting story is completely untrue, though at this time they're unable to divulge their sources. Looks like this one may still be up in the air.
