MUMBAI: Paradox Entertainment has sold the option for ‘Conan’ movies to Millennium Films. Development has started and discussions are underway for domestic and international distribution.

“It is time for the Cimmerian to return to the big screen. Robert E. Howard’s ‘Conan’ is undoubtedly one of the greatest fantasy characters in our time and with the right filmmaker this movie will be huge. We’re very happy to be working with Millennium Films as they share our passion and are fasttracking the project,” said Paradox Entertainment president and CEO Fredrik Malmberg.

Producers are Fredrik Malmberg from Paradox Entertainment and Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson, Joe Gatta and George Furla from Millennium Films.

Among Millennium Films’ previous productions are 16 Blocks (Bruce Willis) and The Black Dahlia (Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson). Presently, the studio is working on Righteous Kill (Al Pacino, Robert De Niro), King of California (Michael Douglas) and John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone).

Paradox Entertainment, through its subsidiary Conan Properties International LLC, has owned the rights to ‘Conan’ since 2002 and acquired the rest of the Howard library in early 2006. ‘Conan’ has been making a comeback the past couple of years in publishing, gaming and collectibles. This fall sees the release of the action-packed ‘Conan’ videogame (Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) from THQ/Nihilistic, and in spring of 2008 comes the much anticipated ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’ MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) by Funcom/Eidos.