The new-look Conan The Barbarian doesn't thunder onto our screens for a few months yet, but the man who plays Cimmeria's sword swinger, Jason Momoa, is already on the campaign trail. He's here to win over the masses for his take on the character Arnie owned back in 1982. Looking at the man, realistically who's going to argue?

Despite boasting pecs the size of Canvey Island and biceps that look more like CGI-ceps, Momoa promises an altogether lither, speedier hero than Arnie's beefcake. "We wanted to make him nimble," Momoa told Empire, "[because] he's a product of his environment. He's not out there lifting boulders..."

Expect swordplay influenced by Toshiro Mifune in Kurosawa's samurai movies, says Momoa, movement like a panther and bloody Apocalypto-style combat, a movie director Marcus Nispel cites as an influence.

 

And what of the dark arts that run through Robert E. Howard's source material? "There's a lot of magic and sorcery in the Conan stories but they wanted to steer clear [of including] too much of that because of Clash Of The Titans. They have a little bit of the sorcery in there with Marique (Rose McGowan) but I'm sure in Conan 2 and 3 there's going to be a lot more of that."

So a second and third outing for the new-look Conan look like a cert if Conan The Barbarian brings home the bacon. First though is the small matter of avenging his scorched village and vanquishing evil warlord Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang). Conan The Barbarian rolls into cinemas on August 26 in serpent-smiting 3D.