A reboot of Red Sonja spent nearly fifteen years in development hell before going into production in 2022 with director M.J. Bassett (Solomon Kane) at the helm. Before Bassett signed on, the project had passed through the hands of directors Robert Rodriguez, Simon West, Bryan Singer, and Joey Soloway, with Hannah John-Kamen, Rose McGowan, and Amber Heard being considered for the lead role. Matilda Lutz ended up starring in the film, and while we still don’t know when we’ll get to see her version of the title character in action, she did talk about the making of the film (and the metal bikini she had to wear in it) during an interview with Collider.
Lutz said she had a great experience working on Red Sonja, getting the chance to do stunts and horseback riding, to work with Bassett. She added, “What I think is different from what we know of Red Sonja is that it was very, and the comics as well, was very male gaze-oriented and this is a completely different story. It’s a very empowered woman, and that’s what I loved about the story. I don’t know yet when it’s coming out, but I’m very excited to see it. I haven’t seen anything yet.” As for the character’s “metal bikini” outfit, “Even in costume rehearsals and building the whole costume was like, I felt very exposed. But what I love about it is that the bikini is used in a completely different way from the comics. So I’m excited to see what the audience is gonna think. It was already in the script that the costume was gonna [be] used not as an exposure kind of like element but in a different way, I don’t want to spoil it but in a different way. So, I felt good enough to wear something that was used for a purpose.“
Whatever the purpose is, she did end up wearing that “metal bikini” during a sequence that takes place in an arena with lots of extras, and involves her character “fighting monsters.”
Bassett directed the film from a screenplay by Joey Soloway (Transparent) and Tasha Huo (Netflix’s Tomb Raider anime). This version of Red Sonja is derived from the sword and sorcery comic books by Dynamite Entertainment, based on the character created by Robert E. Howard and adapted by Roy Thomas. Details on the plot are being kept under wraps. All we know is that Sonja is “a fearsome warrior boasting a high degree of skill with a sword”.
In the cast with Lutz (Revenge) are Rhona Mitra (Doomsday), Wallis Day (Sex/Life) as Annisia, Robert Sheehan (The Umbrella Academy) as Draygan, Michael Bisping (xXx: Return of Xander Cage) as Hawk, Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga) as General Karlak, Eliza Matengu (Thor: Love and Thunder) as Amarak, Manal El Feitury (Code Red) as Ayala, and Katrina Durden (Doctor Strange) as Saevus.
Red Sonja is being produced by Jeffrey Greenstein, Mark Canton, Courtney Solomon, Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman, Andrea Sperling, Yariv Lerner, Jonathan Yunger, Les Weldon, Joe Gatta, and Tanner Mobley. Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson, Trevor Short, Luke Lieberman, Nick Barrucci, and Dorothy Canton serve as executive producers.
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