The long-awaited reboot of Red Sonja has been scooped up by Samuel Goldwyn Films, Deadline is reporting. The distrib will handle U.S. rights with an eye on a theatrical release later this year.
This version of the feature take of the comic series is directed by M. J. Bassett who has directed episodes of Iron Fist, Power and Ash vs. Evil Dead. The original movie, released in 1985 during the heyday of the Conan the Barbarian movies, starred Arnold Schwarzenegger with newcomer Bridgitte Nielsen in the title role. That film was a failure by almost every conceivable measure.
Captured. Chained. Forced to fight for survival. Red Sonja must battle her way through the blood-soaked pits of a tyrant’s empire and rally an army of outcasts to reclaim her freedom and take down Dragan and his ruthless bride, Dark Annisia.
Tasha Huo wrote the screenplay and Matilda Lutz stars in the title role alongside Robert Sheehan, Wallis Day, Martyn Ford, Michael Bisping, with Phillip Winchester, and Trevor Eve.
Fans of Robert E. Howard’s original stories of ‘Conan’ and related ‘Red Sonya’ series have expressed concerns about this new ‘Red Sonja’ movie, worrying that the film is changing how Red Sonja is portrayed, which might alter her character and make the movie less true to the original story. Reportedly the script is a big departure from the traditional portrayal of the character, including a concerted effort by producers to shift away from the “male-gaze” orientation of previous iterations, coupled with the omission of certain backstory elements, which long time fans say might compromise the adaptation’s faithfulness to the source material.
There’s also a worry that the movie is trying to appeal to modern audiences in a way that might upset long-time fans by becoming too focused on current social issues, which would drive away fans who have loved the character Red Sonja for years. The “she devil with a sword” is still quite popular in comics produced by Dynamite Entertainment, which has maintained a traditional approach to the sword and sorcery heroine. Overall, fans are concerned that the movie might not balance updating the character with keeping the things that make Red Sonja special.
We’ll find out soon enough when the movie hits theaters later this year.
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