Robert Rodriguez's planned Conan the Barbarian TV series receives a disappointing update from the director. The Conan franchise evolved from a series of short stories by Robert E. Howard into Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1982 breakout hit Conan the Barbarian, directed by John Milius. The success of the movie prompted a less well-received sequel, Conan the Destroyer, as well as the critically-maligned 2011 Conan the Barbarian remake starring Jason Momoa. A TV series has been in development for a long time.