Today, all at once, Hollywood’s beefiest bois all perked up at once, as if they knew their time had come. The reason: Deadline reports that a Conan the Barbarian TV series is in the works at Netflix, part of a deal between the streaming service and Conan Properties International. The deal would give Netflix exclusive access to the vast literary history of the Conan character, created by Robert E. Howard, which stretches back to 1953 and encompasses more than 50 novels.

Of course, most associate Conan with the aggressively wide frame of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. Director John Milius‘ 1982 film adaptation was a break-out role for the bodybuilder-turned actor and was quickly followed up by a sequel, Conan the Destroyer. Almost three decades later, a Conan reboot starring Jason Momoa in the title role proved to be…less successful.

All Conan stories are set during the fictional, vaguely-Celtic Hyborian Age. Born to a blacksmith father on a battlefield, Conan the Cimmerian was an ass-kicker by 15, when he decided to set out adventurin’. His journeys would basically invent the “sword and sorcery” genre, saving damsels in distress from wood witches, dragons, dark wizards, and monstrous mythic beasts. Yes, this early-in-development television series should cross-over with The Witcher as soon as possible, and yes, Conan and Geralt of Rivia should either fight or date or preferably both.

The report notes that Netflix’s acquisition of the Conan rights is part of an overall strategy to adapt literary IP, along with Mark Millar‘s Millarworld comic book universe and the works of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author Roald Dahl. The search for both a showrunner and director on Conan the Barbarian is currently underway.

via Collider