Arnold Schwarzenegger to reprise "Conan" movie role

Actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger presents his book 'Total Recall' during a news conference during the book fair in Frankfurt, October 10, 2012.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Arnold Schwarzenegger is reprising one of his most famous movie roles - Conan the Barbarian - for an upcoming sequel, Universal Pictures said on Friday.

Schwarzenegger, 65, will play the sword-swinging hero in "The Legend of Conan," 30 years after the film that launched the Austrian body-builder as a Hollywood star.

"I always loved the Conan character, and I'm honored to be asked to step into the role once again," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

The original films, 1982's "Conan the Barbarian" and 1984's "Conan The Destroyer," together grossed more than $70 million at U.S. box office.

The "Conan" franchise was remade in 2011 with "Game of Thrones" star Jason Momoa, but the film -- also called "Conan the Barbarian" -- failed to repeat the success of its predecessors, earning only $21 million at the North American box office, according to film tracking site BoxOfficeMojo.com.

The new "Conan" film is the latest Hollywood venture by Schwarzenegger since the action movie hero ended his term as governor of California in January 2011.

He starred alongside Hollywood's veteran action heroes in this summer's "The Expendables 2," and is lined up to star in five other films, including thriller "Ten" and "Triplets," a sequel to his hit 1988 comedy "Twins" alongside co-star Danny DeVito

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, also has launched a global policy think-tank in his name at the University of Southern California, and released a memoir in October, "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life." The book revealed details of the child Schwarzenegger fathered with his family's housekeeper 15 years ago, while married to Maria Shriver.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; editing by Jill Serjeant and Leslie Adler)