Red Sonja (upcoming film)

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Red Sonja
Red Sonja (MJ Bassett film).webp
Teaser poster
Directed by M. J. Bassett
Written byTasha Huo [1]
Based on
Characters
by
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Lorenzo Senatore
Edited byAndrew MacRitchie
Music by
Production
companies
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Red Sonja is an upcoming American sword and sorcery film directed by M. J. Bassett and written by Tasha Huo, based on the character of the same name. [2] [3] The film stars Matilda Lutz as the title character, alongside Wallis Day, Robert Sheehan, Michael Bisping, Martyn Ford, Eliza Matengu, Rhona Mitra, and Veronica Ferres.

Contents

Premise

Enslaved by an evil tyrant who wishes to destroy her people, barbarian huntress Red Sonja must unite a group of unlikely warriors to face off against Dragan The Magnificent and his deadly bride, Dark Annisia. [4]

Cast

Additionally, Rhona Mitra, Kate Nichols, and Danica Davis were cast in undisclosed roles. [8]

Production

Following the 1985 film starring Brigitte Nielsen, a second Red Sonja film was in development for several years. In 2008, Robert Rodriguez and his production company Troublemaker Studios were working on a version that would have starred Rose McGowan as the titular character. [9] By 2009, however, the Rodriguez project had been scrapped, and in February 2010, rights holders Nu Image announced they were moving forward with another projected new film to be directed by Simon West. Producer Avi Lerner said he would like to see Amber Heard take the role of Sonja, after having worked with her on Drive Angry . Lerner said the film would shoot before the sequel to Conan the Barbarian . [10]

In August 2012, at the premiere of The Expendables 2 , West said that the film was still a go and would be out soon. [11] On February 26, 2015, Christopher Cosmos was set to write the screenplay from scratch. [12] According to Deadline, Millennium Films would finance and produce a new Red Sonja movie with Lerner and Joe Gatta producing alongside Cinelou Films' Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon and writing by Ashley Miller. [13] [14]

In October 2018, Bryan Singer was confirmed to direct the film. [15] After multiple men accused Singer of sexual assault in January 2019, Lerner released a statement in defense of Singer, praising his "remarkable vision and acumen" and saying that he knew "the difference between agenda driven [ sic ] fake news and reality". [16] The following month, Millennium Films announced Red Sonja was no longer on their slate of films due to the allegations against Singer. [17] In March 2019, Lerner dropped Singer from the project because he was unable to secure a domestic distributor. [18] In June 2019, Joey Soloway signed on to write, direct and produce the film. [19]

In February 2021, Tasha Huo was hired to write the script with Soloway, and casting was set to begin. [20] By May, Hannah John-Kamen was cast in the titular role. [21] In March 2022, John-Kamen and Soloway left, with M. J. Bassett replacing Soloway as director. [22] M.J. Bassett rewrote the script by Tasha Huo. [23] That August, Millennium confirmed that the film had begun production in Sofia, Bulgaria, with Matilda Lutz playing the title role. [6] [3] [24] In September 2022, Oliver Trevena was set to appear as Tr'aal. [25]

In October 2022, Rhona Mitra was cast in an undisclosed role, while Trevena exited the film due to scheduling conflicts. [2] In November 2022, Veronica Ferres was cast as Ashera and the mother of Red Sonja. [26] On 12 November 2022, it was reported that filming had been underway for two weeks at studios in the Thermi suburb of Thessaloniki, Greece, with post-production to be completed there as well. [27] By February 2023, Kate Nichols, Katrina Durden, Manal El-Feitury, and Danica Davis were cast in undisclosed roles, while Alison McCosh and Clint Wallace were revealed to be the costume designer and production designer, respectively. [8]

The film is based on the Dynamite Entertainment version of the character. [2] These comics introduced a concept where the original Marvel Comics Sonja was killed and replaced by Dynamite's reincarnation. [28] Luke Lieberman serves as a producer under Red Sonja LLC, while Nick Barrucci serves as an executive producer for Dynamite Entertainment. [3]

Adaptation

Lutz said the film will differ in tone from the "male gaze" of the comics, and present "a completely different story". However, the character's trademark bikini will remain the main costume for the film. [29] On September 10, 2024, a set photo featuring a partially armored Sonja was posted to the Red Sonja Instagram account. [30]

Release

In July 2023, the film's producer Luke Lieberman was quoted saying the film was expected to be "out in the first or second quarter of 2024". [31] A teaser trailer debuted at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the character. [32] [31]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Red Sonja". Writers Guild of America West . June 1, 2023. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Grobar, Matt (October 14, 2022). "'Red Sonja' Adds Rhona Mitra As Oliver Trevena Exits Millennium Media Comic Book Film Due To Scheduling Conflicts". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "'Red Sonja' First Look: Matilda Lutz Stars In Millennium Media's Comic Book Film". Deadline. October 11, 2022. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  4. ↑ Juvet, Aedan (October 4, 2023). "Red Sonja Producer Offers an Update on the Upcoming Film". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  5. ↑ Grobar, Matt (August 23, 2022). "'Red Sonja': Matilda Lutz, Wallis Day & Robert Sheehan Set For Millennium Media's Comic Book Film". Deadline. Archived from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Vlessing, Etan (August 23, 2022). "Red Sonja: Matilda Lutz to Star in Millennium's Sword and Sorcery Feature". The Hollywood Reporter . PMRC. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Cavanaugh, Patrick (August 23, 2022). "Red Sonja Movie Starts Production". Comicbook. Archived from the original on August 23, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "EXCLUSIVE: Set Photo From 'Red Sonja' Remake Showcases The Fantasy Heroine's Armor". February 19, 2023. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Rose McGowan Explains Why Red Sonja Never Happened". Reelz . August 20, 2012. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Amber Heard For Red Sonja?". Empire Online. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  11. ↑ Clever Movies (August 6, 2012). "Simon West Talks 'Red Sonja' Reboot [EXCLUSIVE]". Archived from the original on May 19, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2012– via YouTube.
  12. ↑ Kit, Borys (February 26, 2015). "'Red Sonja' Movie Lands New Writer (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  13. ↑ Busch, Anita (November 4, 2017). "Millennium To Produce Female-Strong 'Red Sonja' With Cinelou". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 4, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  14. ↑ Busch, Anita (April 4, 2018). "'X-Men: First Class,' 'Thor' Writer Ashley Edward Miller Hired On For 'Red Sonja'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  15. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (October 5, 2018). "Bryan Singer Nabs Huge Payday for Directing 'Red Sonja'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  16. ↑ McNary, Dave (January 24, 2019). "Bryan Singer Will Keep 'Red Sonja' Directing Gig Despite New Accusations". Variety . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  17. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (February 11, 2019). "Millennium's 'Red Sonja' Movie Put On Back Burner Amid Bryan Singer Controversy". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  18. ↑ Masters, Kim; Siegel, Tatiana (March 13, 2019). "Powerful Friends: After Kevin Tsujihara, More Executives Pushed to Cast Actress Charlotte Kirk". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  19. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 21, 2019). "'Transparent' Creator Jill Soloway To Write & Direct 'Red Sonja'". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  20. ↑ Ritman, Alex (February 26, 2021). "'Tomb Raider' Showrunner Tasha Huo to Write 'Red Sonja' With Joey Soloway for Millennium (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  21. ↑ Kit, Borys (May 5, 2021). "'Red Sonja': Hannah John-Kamen to Star in Millennium's Sword and Sorcery Feature (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Red Sonja Movie Loses Ant-Man and the Wasp's Hannah John-Kamen". CBR . March 9, 2022. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  23. ↑ Hamman, Cody (January 11, 2023). "Red Sonja: How M.J. Bassett broke the reboot out of development hell". JoBlo. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  24. ↑ Johnson, Scott (January 11, 2023). "Breaking the Curse of 'Red Sonja'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  25. ↑ Hamman, Cody (September 9, 2022). "Red Sonja: Oliver Trevena plays a warrior alongside Matilda Lutz". JoBlo . Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  26. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (November 2, 2022). "AFM: Veronica Ferres Joins the Cast of 'Red Sonja' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  27. ↑ Makri, Stephanie (November 12, 2022). "New Hollywood Productions to Be Filmed in Thessaloniki, Greece". Greek Reporter. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Red Sonja Comics". Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  29. ↑ London, Rob (March 10, 2024). "'Red Sonja's Star Reveals the Big Differences Between the Reboot and the Original [Exclusive]". Collider. Archived from the original on May 19, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  30. ↑ Collinson, Gary (September 16, 2024). "Red Sonja set photo offers new look at Matilda Lutz in full armor". Flickering Myth. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  31. 1 2 Amaya, Erik (July 22, 2023). "SDCC 2023: Wendy Pini And More Help Celebrate 'Red Sonja' At 50th Anniversary Panel". Comicon. Archived from the original on August 18, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  32. ↑ Cavanaugh, Patrick (July 14, 2023). "First Red Sonja Movie Teaser to Premiere at SDCC". comicbook.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
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