The past few years were thought to have seen some progress with hopeful revival of MGM’s Marvel classic, Red Sonja with the likes of Bryan Singer. That angle appears to be no more with Singer no longer attached to the languishing project that’s been close to a decade in the making and now with news that Jill Soloway (Amazon’s Transparent series) will pen and helm the feature.
The update is a move back to the drawing board for Millennium Films who announced efforts back in 2017 with Cinelou Films. Ashley Edward Miller was later tapped to pen a draft the following year prior to last Fall’s attachment of Singer which led to surmounting blowback from critics in the wake of a raft of multiple sexual assault allegations and reports of the director’s erratic behavior and eventual departure from the set of Bohemian Rhapsody for which he is still credited as director.
As reported by Deadline, Soloway makes her entry into the fray “with a bold new take” that “gives the film much better optics” and even more studio promise. The character was originally recreated by Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor with partial inspiration from Robert E. Howard’s own shortstory work from the 1930s, and centers on a young girl from the Western Hyrkanian steppes who trains and sets out to seek revenge for her own rape and the murder of her family.
Starring Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Fleischer’s own adaptation of the on-going 1970s comic from Dynamite Entertainment, initially bombed critically and commerically but sustained a cult following over the years through its merchandising and a television adaptation in the 1990s. The news of rebooting comes nine years since previous attempts to revamp Red Sonja once with Planet Terror duo Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan circling at the time.
“I can’t wait to bring Red Sonja’s epic world to life,” Soloway told Deadline. “Exploring this powerful mythology and evolving what it means to be a heroine is an artistic dream come true.”
Millennium Media will finance. Millennium Films will produce with Topple Campbell/Grobman Films and Cinelou Films, and with rights holder Luke Lieberman serving as executive producer.