Matilda Lutz has officially become Red Sonja in the first look at the highly anticipated movie.
We finally have our first look at M.J. Bassett’s Red Sonja movie, which has long been in development. The photo reveals actress Matilda Lutz as the titular character framed by a fiery backdrop and wielding a sword. The upcoming sword and sorcery epic is being released from Millennium Media.
Cameras for the Red Sonja movie began rolling at the Bulgarian Nu Boyana Studio. The cast includes Wallis Day, Robert Sheehan as Draygan, Michael Bisping as Hawk, Martyn Ford as General Karlak, and Eliza Matengu as Amarak. No release date for the film has been set.
Red Sonja is a project that has run into numerous problems during its development cycle. Before M.J. Bassett came on board, the film was originally going to be directed by Bryan Singer. A series of sexual assault allegations forced the X-Men director to step away from the project.
The creator and showrunner of Amazon’s Transparent, Joey Soloway, was hired to replace Singer, and actress Hannah John-Kaman was cast in the titular role. Less than a year later, both parties departed from Red Sonja and left the studio scrambling to find a new director and lead. They finally found good fortune when M.J. Bassett came on board. The director was best known for his work on the 2012 video game adaptation Silent Hill: Revelation.
After Hannah John-Kaman exited Red Sonja, the studio hired Revenge star Matilda Lutz to take over the titular role. At one point, Borat actor Sasha Baron Cohen was almost set to star as the film’s antagonist. According to THR, the actor was offered $7 million to come on board but ultimately turned it down.
Red Sonja has been made into a feature film once. A 1985 movie starring Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger made almost $18 million at the box office and is considered a financial failure. Schwarzenegger even admitted via Xfinity that it was “one of the worst films [he’d] ever made.”
Spy Kids director Robert Rodriguez was then attached to the project for a long time. His production company, Troublemaker Studios, was all set to get going on a new incarnation of Red Sonja. Rose McGowan would’ve starred as the character, and cameras would’ve begun rolling in 2008.
However, production on the project fell through. Another attempt at a new Red Sonja occurred in 2010 when Simon West was brought on to direct the film. Producer Avi Lerner stated that he wanted to cast Amber Heard in the lead role. West later informed fans that the project was stuck in development hell.
The new Red Sonja seems to be moving forward despite a horrible development history. If the movie is anything like the official first image, fans could be in for an epic sword and sorcery tale. THR notes that additional shots are scheduled later this month at the Greek Nu Boyana Studio.
Here’s hoping that Red Sonja doesn’t run into any more problems. The film can’t afford to suffer another setback this far into production. The studio is hedging its bets that the film could spark a new blockbuster franchise.
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