Conan: Red Nails (2009)

Lately, the internet has been flooded with rumors about the new Conan remake slated for 2010. There’s endless speculation about which A-lister will step in to replace Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the director list keeps spinning—we've heard names like Rob Zombie, Robert Rodriguez, Neil Marshall, and most recently, Brett Ratner. Honestly, though? It all feels like it's stuck in limbo right now.
While we wait to see if this live-action mess actually happens, there's a silver lining: an animated take on the classic comics/novels. You can tell this is a massive production just by looking at the voice cast. We're talking heavy hitters like Ron Perlman voicing Conan, alongside Marg Helgenberger, James Marsden, Mark Hamill, and Clancy Brown. It was originally supposed to drop this year, but the studio pushed it to next year to polish the animation and try to sync up the release closer to the live-action version...
Anyway, here’s the lowdown...



IMDb official site plot

Official site

PLOT

Red Nails depicts Conan's greatest ever adventure as he goes deeper into the Jeweled City, where he is reunited with Valeria the pirate. Within the regions of the City, they meet Princess Tascela who shows interest in Valeria. However, it's more than just physical attraction driving the Princess... full of betrayal and against the darkest sorcery, Conan must use his instincts to save those he cares about from the realm's most twisted evil.

IMAGES
Concept art

Film Art



Wallpapers


Storyboard

And one more little thing...

The rest

The artwork isn't exactly great, but I'm convinced this will make an excellent film and serve as solid hype for the upcoming remake.

To drawing kind of gives me those animated Hellboy movie vibes to me—which are awesome, by the way (even if one is a bit of a letdown)... so I think this could turn out great.

PS. That Conan animated series that used to run on ABC (that Cooonan guy... always swinging that sword... Conan LOL) will definitely be better, haha 😁

Anthony Smith3 said:P.S. That animated series about Conan that used to air on ABC—you know, the one where he’s constantly sitting at those massive tables and dominating with his weapons... Conan LOL—is definitely going to be better. 😁

I remember watching this when I was a kid, and honestly, it’s hard to wrap my head around. They took a character defined by brutal violence—someone who spends most of his time killing and gutting people—and basically turned him into a He-Man clone just to appeal to little kids. It's ridiculous. 🤣

What's actually missing from that 1992 Conan animated series?

Jerry Martin19 said:what's wrong with the animated Conan from '92?

Whatever LOL🤣🤣😂

I don't know. I'm really not feeling the style of Red Nails at all. It doesn't capture the vibe of the Hyborian Age nearly as well as that 90s animated series did. this Conan looks like he’s got the face of some Native American, and honestly, these posters look just like any random Cartoon Network cartoon. this Conan actually feels way more convincing to me, even if the show was toned down for kids. (Like how Conan doesn't kill Seth's servant, he just sends him to another dimension or whatever)

p.s. that little clip (0:22) from the intro where Conan "disposes" of those two skeletons and the camera zooms out to focus on him standing on a pile of bones and skulls while you hear the narrator yell, "CONAN, THE MIGHTIEST WARRIOR EVER!"
who can actually afford that? 🙏

What do you guys actually know? This is how it should look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_t605Th-QI 🤣

Jerry Martin19, maybe that "old school" Conan has prettier animation, but it completely misses that R. E. Howard vibe. On the flip side, Red Nails was made strictly from his story, which is exactly why it feels special and high-quality. 😉

That’s like saying Milius's "Conan the Barbarian" is good.
True, if you haven't read Howard's Conan, that movie will seem great. But anyone who actually read the books knows Milius's version is totally off base 😂 and that the entire plot, story, and character backstory were basically rewritten from scratch. 🤣
Not to mention Thulsa Doom, who was clearly just pulled out of thin air, roughed up a bit, and slapped onto the page.
He’s essentially a disastrously butchered hybrid of the original Thulsa Doom (the main villain in the Kull stories) and the actual big bad from Stygia, Thoth-Amon (who pops up in the second movie—Conan the Destroyer—and has nothing to do with this guy). 😂 It's a mess.

Jerry Martin19 said:I don't know. I'm really not feeling the style of Red Nails at all. It doesn't capture the Hyborian Age vibe nearly as well as that 90s animated series did. this version of Conan looks like some Native American character, and the posters look just like any random Cartoon Network cartoon. this Conan actually feels way more convincing to me, even if the show was toned down for kids. (Like how Conan doesn't kill Set's servants, he just sends them to another dimension or whatever)

p.s. and that little clip (0:22) from the intro where Conan "gets rid of" those two skeletons and the camera zooms out to focus on him standing on a pile of bones and skulls while the narrator shouts "CONAN, THE MIGHTIEST WARRIOR EVER!"
who can actually top that? 🙏

Not sure... like someone else already said, this Conan looks just like He-Man to me...

Milius's movie is great... regardless of whether it stuck to the book or not, that's the Conan I expect, and that's what we're getting here...

feralorca82 said:What do you guys even know? This is how it should look... Check this out... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_t605Th-QI 🤣

Jerry Martin19, maybe that "old school" Conan has smoother animation, but it just doesn't capture that true R. E. Howard vibe. On the flip side, Red Nails is strictly faithful to his original story, and honestly, that’s exactly what makes it stand out... 😉

That’s like saying Milius's "Conan the Barbarian" is actually any good...
Honestly, if you haven't read Howard's Conan, this movie is going to be amazing. But for those of us who actually read the books? We know Milius's version is a total joke... 😂 Even if the entire plot, story, and character backstory have been completely overhauled... 🤣
Let's not even get started on Thulsa Doom... just another character pulled out of thin air, slapped together, and tossed onto the page...
He's basically just a messy hybrid of the original Thulsa Doom—the main villain from the Kull stories—and the actual big bad from Stygia, Thoth-Amon. And yeah, that Thoth-Amon pops up in the second movie, Conan the Destroyer, but he’s got zero connection to this guy... 😂 strava...

I just finished one of the Conan novels from the '68 era (the Howard, de Camp, and Carter stuff) and I was actually pretty impressed. To be honest, the story is a massive departure from any Conan movie we've seen so far. It feels like Milius basically took the character and the vibe from the books and just built around them, whereas other adaptations tend to change everything else entirely. I think a director's vision matters a lot here—it’s crucial that when a storyteller like Milius takes on the original material, he interprets it through his own lens without trashing the core concept, the atmosphere, or the protagonist. For me, that movie is a winner...

When it comes to that '92 cartoon, I'm not even talking about how much easier on the eyes the animation is. I mean the vibe. It actually captures the grit of the Hyborian Age. You get a real sense of Cimmeria and Stygia... even the way the lead looks feels right...

Look at this Conan on the poster. It’s somewhere between a Disney flick and a Cartoon Network cartoon, and don't even get me started on that background architecture. This doesn't feel like Conan to me at all...

Anthony Smith3 said:I don't know... like someone already mentioned, this Conan guy just looks too much like He-Man to me...

He looks a lot like He-Man...

Jerry Martin19 said:What makes it look like He-Man?

Looking at the whole concept of the series... it was a long time ago, but if I remember right, it was made specifically for kids. Tons of monsters, plenty of fights, just a little blood... something like Mighty Max or He-Man.

Conan is dark and bloody, definitely not meant for children.

Anthony Smith3 said:Milius's movie is great for me... regardless of whether it stays true to the book or not, it's the version of Conan I actually want to see...

Look, you have to give him credit for what he pulled off🙏
I’m just saying, compared to the original stories, it falls short.😉
Originally, Edward Summer was supposed to direct this. He spent years developing the initial concept for a six-film series that stayed faithful to REH's original tales. They eventually scrapped that and handed the keys over to Milius.

See, that's exactly why I can't wait for Red Nails to build up the hype for the new Conan(2010)

I’ve never actually picked up the novel... just the comics, so honestly, compared to those, I thought the movie was incredible...

And look, it's just how I see things... a comic is a comic, a book is a book, and a movie is a movie. They're totally different media—even if they feel similar—so there's really no point in comparing them when each one brings its own unique vibe to the table...

feralorca82 said:Look, you gotta hand it to him... he actually pulled it off. 🙏
I'm just saying, compared to the original stories, it's pretty bad... 😉
Anyway, the whole thing was originally supposed to be Edward Summers' project. He spent years fleshing out that initial concept, planning a six-part series that actually stuck to the original Howard's stories. Of course, they bailed on that and just handed the reins over to Robert E. Howard...

These kinds of comparisons are exactly what you should be avoiding. So what, the movie is great until you read the book, and then suddenly it’s trash? I don't buy it. A work of art doesn't lose its value just because you start comparing it to something else. It stays what it is. You could make a hundred different versions of Conan, and even if one of them ends up being "better," Howard's version is still going to be solid. It’s not some damn Walkman that becomes obsolete the second a better device hits the market. It’s a movie. It’s art...

See, that’s exactly why I can't wait... Red Nails Just building up the hype for the new one... Conan the Barbarian: Red Nails-a (2010)

Man, you really love a good story, don't you? Hope it works out for you... Red Nails 🙂

Anthony Smith3 said:And like I always say... a comic is a comic, a novel is a novel, and a movie is a movie. They're totally different—even if they feel similar sometimes—but you shouldn't be comparing them. Each medium brings its own unique vibe to the table...

It looks like you might have sent an incomplete message... 🙂

I’d much rather see something like this: http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=ECkH8U...eature=related—but you know, with all the uncensored nudity from the original HM magazine included...

granitepilot2 said:I'd much rather see something like this: http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=ECkH8U...eature=related featuring all the uncensored nudity from the original Heavy Metal magazines...

Way too much sci-fi, not enough fantasy for Conan, but I'm with you on the nudity...😁

Tarzan from 1982 is a decent enough flick if you can manage to ignore the actual essence of Tarzan... It feels like Robert E. Howard intended to craft a standard cinematic classic, but I suspect the filmmakers were merely staring at the artwork on the book covers rather than actually absorbing the true soul of the character... Unless a die-hard Star Wars fan decides to step in and take matters into their own hands, I fear we are simply waiting for yet another disappointment...