For those who are not in the know, a reboot of Red Sonja was set to start production soon, but now it seems like that would be happening. At the European Film Market, studio Millennium Films, which is working on the film, was quoted as saying, “The project is not on the slate at the moment and is not for sale.” And why? Likely because of director Bryan Singer.
Bohemian Rhapsody director Bryan Singer has been under scrutiny after new allegations surfaced in an Atlantic article earlier this month. These allegations add to the various sexual harassment and assault allegations and lawsuits against Singer going back as early as 1997. There was also drama from Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek told a panel at the Santa Barbara Film Festival that working with Singer “was not pleasant, not at all” and that he had been fired from the project.
However, despite shelving the project, Millennium Films has not officially fired Singer from the film. This could either be because they are still making a decision about it or they are hoping to bring the project back once the controversy has died down.
If you need a refresher, Red Sonja is a swords-and-sorcery comic book character, often best known as the most prominent character of the “bikini armor” trope. She a contemporary of the more popular Conan the Barbarian, and her backstory often has to do with getting revenge for the murder of her family as well as her sexual assault. There was a film version made in 1985 starring Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger, though it’s more or less forgotten as a sub-par fantasy adventure. There were no cast officially announced for this new project, but it was set to start filming later in 2019.
