A Red Sonja remake has been circling for a long while, but back in August, it was announced that Millennium Media finally revealed that the production on the movie had finally started in Bulgaria with Matilda Lutz taking on the title role. Now the first image has been released of Lutz in character as the comic book heroine.
Red Sonja has been in development for over a decade, having first been put into development back in 2008, when Rose McGowan was expected to lead the new adaptation of the Dynamite Comics character. When McGowan was forced to pull out of the production after doing permanent damage to her arm, the lead role went through a number of other potential actresses, including Amber Heard and, recently Hannah John-Kamen. John-Kamen was forced to leave the production due to a scheduling conflict, which now seems likely was with Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts movie, and that opened up the way for Italian model Lutz to take over the part.
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The first image certainly has Lutz fully embodying the role, and looking every bit the mighty warrior whose original iteration on screen was played by Brigitte Nielsen back in 1985 when she starred alongside an up-and-coming Arnold Schwarzenegger. How the new adaptation will fare against that cult classic is something that will be revealed when the movie is released, but for now, the first image will certainly tide over Red Sonja fans until a trailer finally drops sometime next year.
Red Sonja Has Gone Through Many Writers and Directors
As with any production that just cannot seem to get off the ground, as well as swapping out numerous leads, Red Sonja has also gone through a collection of writers and directors on its way to production. Having originally been set to be helmed by Simon West, his departure ushered in 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, Solomon Kane director M.J. Bassett took over the reins and has finally managed to get the movie further along than anyone else. Speaking previously about the project, Bassett said:
Although there are plenty of movies that can be derailed by changes in lead, it seems that the arrival of Lutz along with Bassett has really boosted the film’s progress, and both were praised by Millennium Media’s president, Jeffrey Greenstein, who commented:
“I’ve wanted to make a Red Sonja movie 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.”
Red Sonja is expected to be released sometime in late 2023 or early 2024.
“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.”
