Millennium Media’s big screen adaptation ofRed Sonjaseems to have found its new lead inMatilda Lutz, who has been tapped for the title role, with other cast additions including Wallis Day and Robert Sheehan. The film has now finally kicked off production in Bulgaria under the direction ofSolomon Kanehelmer M.J. Bassett after years in development hell.
Red Sonjais inspired by the Dynamite Entertainment comic books and has been the dream project of Bassett for some time. Speaking toDeadline, he explained “I’ve wanted to make aRed Sonjamovie since I was a teenager – she has been a powerful presence for me and a character that I have always wanted to bring to the screen with my own voice and vision. When I met Matilda Lutz, I knew she had all the magic I was looking for and could see the complexity and depth she would bring to Sonja.”
The lead role inRed Sonjawas originally to be played by Hannah John-Kamen, but due to a scheduling conflict, she was forced to step aside. It seems that the change around worked out well, as along with Bassett, Millennium Media’s President Jeffrey Greenstein was quick to praise the actress as well as the director. He commented:
“This has been a long journey from script to screen and we are excited to go into production after assembling the best creative team, an amazing band of up and coming talent and a fun and fantastical world fueled by the Red Sonja IP. M.J. is an amazing filmmaker with fantastic vision and Matilda was absolutely brilliant in Revenge that we knew she was right for this role the moment we saw her – making them the perfect duo for Red Sonja.”
Related:Jaimie Alexander Teases Role in Red Sonja Reboot
Red Sonja Has Been In Development For Years
It has not been an easy journey for the new iteration ofRed Sonja, having started out back in 2008 with Rose McGowan expected to take on the role made famous by Brigitte Nielsen in the 1985 movie, which also starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. McGowan dropped out of the movie following injuries that left her with permanent damage to her right arm, and subsequently Amber Heard was at one point said to be taking on the role, but that also fell through.
As well as lead star issues, the movie has also gone through numerous writers and directors, having originally been set to be helmed by Simon West, then Bryan Singer in 2018 until his firing a year later, and in 2019 Joey Soloway was linked to the project. After Soloway’s departure along with John-Kamen in March this year, it now looks like Bassett is now set to finally bring the movie to the big screen.
After suffering so many setbacks, there are bound to be questions about whether this time around the movie will make it all way, but with production already underway it has certainly moved on further than previous efforts. There is currently no release date set for the movie, but if all goes to plan the film could arrive sometime late in 2023.
