But over the past few weeks, the script has been slowly revealed via a special multiple-episode miniseries on the podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” in which the writers have convened for a table read. Many elements of “Hans and Franz: The Girlyman Dilemma” — including the title — haven’t aged particularly well, of which the writers are well aware, condemning some of their own jokes as they go. The concept involves the two arrogant bodybuilders losing their public access TV show after referring to Martin Luther King Jr. as “flabby.” They then travel to Hollywood, landing in the fictional neighborhood of Little Austria, and meet up with their cousin Schwarzenegger. They somehow get wrapped up in a surgical plot by a mysterious Mr. X to convert “girly men” into muscle men. Also, it was intended to be a musical.

The group doesn’t get too deep into the weeds of why the film wasn’t made, but much of the script revolves around Schwarzenegger’s involvement, and despite his enthusiasm on “SNL,” a panned performance in “Last Action Hero” apparently made him weary of tackling another self-parody.

Although a feature film would’ve been a welcome piece of the often-uneven “SNL” film canon, the podcast format lends itself well to the source material, with Carvey and Nealon stepping back into the exaggerated accents and tough guy braggadocio that made the sketch such a hit. O’Brien reads the stage directions, and Smigel’s impression of Schwarzenegger adds a nice touch (even if it does just sound like he’s doing his classic Triumph the Insult Comic Dog character). The special podcast miniseries is now in its third episode, which aired May 30, with a fourth promised to be arriving soon.