This weekend, Lionsgate released two new trailers for their upcoming 3D Summer tentpole, Conan the Barbarian. These aren’t the first trailers out for the film, but they are, so far, the most telling.
First. Here is the new redband trailer:
Here we get to see just how a lot of the fight scenes are going to look – or, at least, how they will end – with blood and gore strewn across the wasted sands, a path of decapitation in Conan’s wake. Thus, this may not be a film for the terribly squeemish.
The other is the interesting one of the two, however. This is the new plot-centric TV spot:
The visuals are mostly what we’ve already seen in the previous trailers and teasers, but we get a new voice-over, in which Conan’s motivations are explained.
We get to see that the promise of bringing this version of Conan closer to the original character, given when the film was announced has been kept.
Conan is the story of a violently unsophisticated man, living as a savage in the land of Hyboria, during the dark age between the sinking of Atlantis, and the rise of new, great civilizations. The original Conan story took place across a score of short stories in Weird Tales magazine. His origin is clear, however.
He was born on a bloody battlefield, the son of a blacksmith, during the sacking of his home village. Never having a place to call home, he wandered around the known world participating in numerous battles, gaining strength and experience in combat. He’s not superhuman, he’s just very talented at killing people.
The official synopsis is thus:
The most legendary Barbarian of all time is back this Summer. Having thrived and evolved for eight consecutive decades in the public imagination- in prose and graphics, on the big screen and small, in games and properties of all kinds- Conan’s exploits in the Hyborian Age now come alive like never before in a colossal 3D action-adventure film.
A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters, and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil.
Deftly adapted from the original works of Robert E. Howard and faithful to the mythology and psychology of his iconic character, Conan the Barbarian stars Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan, Saïd Taghmaoui and Ron Perlman. The film is directed by Marcus Nispel, and written by Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer and Sean Hood.
Conan the Barbarian comes to theaters on August 19 this year.
