IGN FilmForce is reporting that wrestler-actor Paul Michael Levesque, better known as 'Triple H,' will replace Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role of Robert E. Howard's barbarian hero in the long-delayed film King Conan: Crown of Iron.  According to IGN, John Milius, who chose Arnold for the original 1982 Conan the Barbarian film, has decided that Triple H is the man to portray Howard's sword-wielding Cimmerian.  IGN did not know when filming of the King Conan movie, which has languished in developmental hell for years, will begin.  Some remain skeptical that Triple H's formidable acting chops, which were honed by years of participation in the WWE's fight-laced melodramas on the boob tube, will translate to big screen, but Triple H is no stranger to the movies -- he will be seen as 'Grimwood' in Blade: Trinity, which is now set for a late 2004 release.

Given the recent revival of interest in the Conan character and the Dark Horse Conan comics and graphic novels, Mongoose RPG, and Rittenhouse trading cards, pop culture retailers certainly hope that Milius can get the King Conan project moving, while interest in pulp magazine and comic book heroes remains high in Hollywood.