Last week, it was revealed that cameras have finally started rolling on Millennium Media's Red Sonja reboot in Bulgaria. The movie has been through a long list of filmmakers (including disgraced X-Men helmer Bryan Singer) and a few different leading ladies, but Matilda Lutz will now play the title character in a movie helmed by M.J. Bassett.
Joining her in the cast are Wallis Day, Robert Sheehan, Michael Bisping, Martyn Ford, Eliza Matengu, Manal El-Feitury, and Katrina Durden, though news broke via Deadline on Monday that Oliver Trevena (Wire Room) has also boarded the project in a key role.
Trevena will play Tr’aal, a gladiator-type warrior who joins Sonja in her fight against the evil emperor. However, we've also learned that Red Sonja came close to landing a huge name for its big bad once upon a time.
According to The Hollywood Reporter (via SFFGazette.com), Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen was approached to play the villainous magician Kulan Gath in this movie about the She-Devil with the Sword.
Millennium wanted him to lead the cast alongside Hannah John-Kamen, but the actor - coming off the back of an Oscar nomination for his stellar work in The Trial of the Chicago 7 - turned down a whopping $7 million offer. He was in high demand at the time, of course, and that opportunity was presented to him when Joey Soloway was at the helm.
Since then, the screenplay has been rewritten, and we no longer know if the evildoer will be part of this fresh take.
Adapted from the sword and sorcery comic books of the same name from Dynamite Entertainment, Red Sonja is based on the heroine created by Robert E. Howard and adapted by Roy Thomas. The character is described as a fearsome warrior boasting a high degree of skill with a sword, though no specific story details have been revealed.
Red Sonja doesn't currently have a release date, but we're betting it will arrive in theaters next year. There's always a chance it heads straight to streaming, but that will likely hinge on how much has been spent on making this movie a reality.