Matilda Lutz steps in to lead Red Sonja as Millennium Films finally gets this long-mooted project in front of cameras.
Red Sonja, the fearsome female warrior was a film that first emerged in the mid 1980s, around the time of Conan The Barbarian. It cashed in on that movie’s popularity and also featuring its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, alongside Brigitte Nielsen as the titular female warrior. There has been talk of a reboot of the movie for years but it seems to be a project that is taking an inordinate amount of time to bring to the screen.
For a dozen or so years now various attempts have been made to get the film off the ground, with creative talent such as Robert Rodriguez, Rose McGowan, Simon West, Megan Fox and Amber Heard all attached at various points in time. Bryan Singer was also attached to the project in early 2019 before he was released due to reasons that have been well publicised elsewhere.
Despite the decades passing though, interest in Brigitte Nielsen’s 1985 outing and the character remain. Comics featuring the character have continued to sell well in the years hence and the original film received a 4K disc release last month. Despite taking body blow after body blow, the reboot has also refused to lie down and die.
As it stands, Tasha Huo and Joey Soloway have scripted the latest incarnation of Red Sonja. Huo is also working on the upcoming Tomb Raider animated show for Netflix. Soloway, who is helming at least one episode of that series, was also directing Red Sonja until she too stepped away.
That was the latest blow to the project’s fortunes as Red Sonja lost its star Hannah John-Kamen and the services of Soloway. Still, the project continues with the announcement that Revenge's Matilda Lutz will now step into the title role whilst Solomon Kane's MJ Basset will direct.
Batwoman's Wallis Day and The Umbrella Academy's Robert Sheehan will also lead the cast. British mixed martial arts star, Michael Bisping will also feature alongside Martyn Ford, Eliza Matengu, Manal El-Feitury and Katrina Durden.
Cameras have begun rolling on the film in Bulgaria, with the action set to move to Greece at some stage. Although the name value of those involved may not match up to some of the talent previously attached to the project, it’s great that Red Sonja has finally made it into production after all these years. We look forward to seeing how the process turns out when the film releases, presumably at some point next year.
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