FILM · 1984 · USA
Conan the Destroyer
34 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (34)
- #001
The producers had trouble finding a horse for Wilt Chamberlain to ride, because Chamberlain was so tall that his feet touched the ground. They eventually found one large enough in Spain and imported it to Mexico.
- #002
Wilt Chamberlain and Grace Jones did not get along on set. Chamberlain had to ask Jones to turn her stereo down.
- #003
When Bombaata and Zula fight, Grace Jones actually bit Wilt Chamberlain's ear, and the blood running down his neck was real. The shock on Wilt's face was genuine. It was Jones's first film role, and she had never performed before.
- #004
Six people operated the Dagoth monster, controlling its arms, mouth, eyes and body.
- #005
Wilt Chamberlain and Grace Jones performed 90% of their own stunts.
- #006
Grace Jones accidentally sent two stuntmen to the hospital with a fighting staff. She trained for 18 months to prepare for the film.
- #007
Off screen, Arnold Schwarzenegger taught Olivia d'Abo how to defend herself.
- #008
Some scenes were shot in the same location and at the same time as scenes for Dune (1984).
- #009
John Milius, the director of Conan the Barbarian (1982), was unable to direct this film. In Schwarzenegger's latest autobiography, the studio taking a more active role than on the first film led to some serious mistakes. E. T. Extra-Terrestrial (1982) made Universal think it would earn more money if this film were family entertainment. Schwarzenegger objected to the change, but they overruled him. Director Richard Fleischer agreed with Schwarzenegger but went along with Universal's wish to make this sequel more like a comic book. Although it outdid the first film, it did not do well in the US because, exactly as Schwarzenegger and Fleischer had feared, it was more family-friendly. He later voiced the same fears about Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), in which the Terminator was not allowed to kill anyone. Both Schwarzenegger and Dino De Laurentiis dropped out of the series, and Schwarzenegger chose to make only contemporary films afterwards.
- #010
Wilt Chamberlain joined the production late because he replaced another actor at the last minute.
- #011
There is a deleted scene in which Sarah Douglas's Queen Taramis seduces Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan before sending him on his journey. It was cut to secure the PG rating the film was meant to have.
- #012
The actors put dry ice in their mouths to create the illusion of cold breath. Because touching dry ice is dangerous, small mesh cages were built to hold it safely.
- #013
Arnold Schwarzenegger found the script too childish. He tried to persuade the producers to make a more serious film but failed, and he was unhappy with the result. Because he lost interest in Conan, this is one of the reasons a third film never followed this sequel.
- #014
Each of the swords cost $10,000.
- #015
Arnold Schwarzenegger's commitment to this film delayed the production of his next film, The Terminator (1984), but this turned out to be a blessing: it allowed writer/director James Cameron to write additional drafts of the Terminator script, which became a critical and financial success. The delay also gave Cameron time to write Aliens (1986), which he was allowed to direct by capitalizing on the strength of Terminator's success. The solidifying of Cameron's career led him and Schwarzenegger to team up for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), which arguably elevated both men to superstardom.
- #016
The role of Malak was originally given to David L. Lander. Lander was dropped both because of his worsening health following the onset of multiple sclerosis and because of difficulties with the director, and the role was recast with Tracey Walter.
- #017
Olivia d'Abo says she learned to scream better thanks to this film.
- #018
Roger Donaldson was initially chosen to direct, but producer Dino De Laurentiis reassigned him to The Bounty (1984). John Milius suggested Richard Fleischer, who had previously worked with De Laurentiis and had directed The Vikings (1958), one of Milius's favorite films.
- #019
Many believe this was Olivia d'Abo's first film, but she said she shot Bolero (1984) before it and that both were released the same year. Her role in Bolero is more controversial and better remembered because she appeared fully nude even though she was only 14 at the time.
- #020
Olivia d'Abo was very afraid of Pat Roach.
- #021
Writer Roy Thomas conceived the character Zula as a black male warrior. Zula is a genuine African male name, since the people of the Black Kingdoms were assumed to be the ancestors of Black Africans. The producers thought the character was female because the name ends in "A," and they contacted Grace Jones and designed costumes for her. By the time Roy Thomas noticed the mistake it was too late, and budget constraints and the contract signed with Grace Jones forced him to adapt the script to change the character's gender.
- #022
The sequence in which Conan fights Thoth-Amon/the monster in the hall of mirrors was influenced by the famous final fight between Lee and Han in the mirrored room in Enter the Dragon (1973), where Lee defeats Han by smashing the mirrors to counter Han's illusions. Conan defeats Thoth-Amon/the monster by breaking all the mirrors.
- #023
Conan appears in an epilogue set years after the events of this film, seated on a king's throne. He is adorned in this manner and beside him are two weapons, a spear/staff and a sword. The sword is not the Atlantean sword he discovered in the first film and used in this film. It is in fact the sword forged by his father in the prologue of Conan the Barbarian (1982), intended to be given to Conan but stolen after his parents were killed. Years later Conan rediscovered the sword during a duel and it was broken, and the broken sword was used to behead Thulsa Doom, who was responsible for his family's deaths. The sword was then discarded and left to burn with the ruins of Thulsa Doom's castle, and was never seen again.
- #024
With Will Hatty's help, Arnold Schwarzenegger gained an extra five kilos (10 pounds) at Richard Fleischer's request for him to play Conan in this film.
- #025
Basil Poledouris composed the score for this film after the original film, which was directed by John Milius, who had hired Basil to direct Big Wednesday (1978). The track titled "The Orgy" plays during the virgin sacrifice attempt at the end and is from the original film.
- #026
At the time, Olivia d'Abo was not aware that there was someone inside the monster costume.
- #027
The first rumors about the film were that its title would be Conan: Prince of Thieves, a nod to the character Taurus of Nemedia from the Conan story The Tower of the Elephant. The original Conan the Barbarian had also drawn heavily on that story.
- #028
Olivia d'Abo won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress of the year for this film, and she won the same award the same year for Bolero (1984).
- #029
At the end of the film, Olivia d'Abo's character gives Arnold Schwarzenegger's character a kiss. At the time she was 14 and he was 37.
- #030
Maria Shriver visited the set and rode horses into the mountains with Arnold Schwarzenegger to have a picnic.
- #031
Malak, the cowardly thief, was a reference to the character Vila Restal in Blake's 7 (1978).
- #032
Subotai from the original film did not return for the sequel and is not mentioned. It is unknown why Subotai does not appear in the sequel. After the first film, Gerry Lopez did not act again until 1987. It is possible that Subotai was killed off-screen some time after Conan killed Thulsa Doom, and that he died saving Conan's life.
- #033
Princess Jehnna tells Conan that every game has rules, and Conan replies that in this game there is magic and that he needs magic to fight magic. This was written as a reference to the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (1983), in which player characters such as barbarians, wizards and elves go on quests through dungeon labyrinths.
- #034
Franco Zeffirelli was considered to direct the film.
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