RED SONJA Producer Shares Update On "Darker" Reboot - Is A Trailer Imminent?

RED SONJA Producer Shares Update On "Darker" Reboot - Is A Trailer Imminent?

Red Sonja producer Les Weldon has given fans an update on the status of the sword-and-sorcery reboot, while indicating that a first trailer may not be too far away...

By MarkCassidy - Oct 05, 2023 06:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Red Sonja

After over a decade spent attempting to get the project moving with multiple writers and directors attached at various different stages, Millennium Films finally managed to put its Red Sonja reboot into production late last year, with Revenge star Matilda Lutz taking over from Ant-Man and the Wasp's Hannah John Kamen as the fearsome warrior of the title

Solomon Kane director M.J. Bassett - who is a huge fan of the She-Devil with a Sword - is now at the helm, and the first trailer screened for those in attendance at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this year. We were expecting the footage to be released online shortly after, but we've had no word since.

While speaking to Collider (via SFFGazette.com) about the movie, producer Les Weldon promised that "fans will be able to watch it soon."

"We're just about finished with the editing. That film is very rooted and very real if you will, but there are a couple of sequences that we have to get the CGI right so that you don't look at it and go, 'Oh, that creature wasn't quite there.' So we finished the film, and we're ready to get into the next part of post on it."

When asked how Red Sonja compares to another upcoming reboot he's involved with, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, Weldon mentioned that this will be a "little bit of a darker take than you would expect."

"Well, Red Sonja is also a little bit of a, I don't wanna say a darker take, but a little bit darker take than you would expect, certainly compared to the original Red Sonja. We want to be very careful with the CG to make sure it's done properly and does the film a service rather than a disservice."

It wouldn't be difficult to be grittier than the campy original, but it doesn't sound like this adaptation will be going too dark.

During 2022 interview, Bassett revealed that she decided to alter a key aspect of Sonya's backstory: her brutal rape by marauding enemies.

“I have no interest in fictional women who use [rape] as an engine of motivation,” she said. “It’s not a strong motivation. She’s just a human being in the world of femininity.”

One potentially controversial staple of the character that will be staying, however, is her revealing chain-mail bikini. While Bassett acknowledged that Sonja “became a character for prepubescent 13-year-olds that was never accessible beyond,” the filmmaker clearly felt that Sonja's signature outfit shouldn't be tampered with.

Red Sonja also features Wallis Day as Annisia, Robert Sheehan as Draygan, Michael Bisping as Hawk, Martyn Ford as General Karlak and Eliza Matengu as Amarak.

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JobinJ
JobinJ - 10/5/2023, 6:47 AM
Darker? Did they make her a black non binary trans warrior?
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 10/5/2023, 7:07 AM
@JobinJ - Can't be assed to read whatever was written up top but from what I recall, they originally tried to pull that shit with the casting, didn't work out. New girl they got thankfully seems more on track with the character.
Forthas
Forthas - 10/5/2023, 7:56 AM
This could be a break out hit...if it relies on human drama over CGI and jokes and if the villains are compelling.
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 10/5/2023, 10:09 AM
@Forthas

It's from Millennium. This movie was probably shot in Bulgaria on a shoestring budget and will finish at around 20% (give-or-take) on RT.

This is the same studio who gives you Exependables movies.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 10/5/2023, 10:49 AM
@regularmovieguy - Exoendables all had a decent budget around 100 million, give or take.
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 10/5/2023, 11:27 AM
@CorndogBurglar

And it all must’ve went to the cast because the production value is really bad.

It’s super cheap to shoot in Bulgaria. These movies are R-rated but generally use CGI blood that looks like it came out of a video game. And the writing is generally really bad.

I just wouldn’t put too much stock into this movie. If you look at Millennium’s track record that should tell you all you need to know.
M
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 10/5/2023, 12:37 PM
@regularmovieguy - Oh I'm not putting any stock in it. And yeah, CGI blood always pisses me off. And with giant cast of the Expendables it wouldn't surprise me if 70% of it was for the cast members alone.
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 10/5/2023, 1:02 PM
@CorndogBurglar

For sure. I have nothing against that series either other than wasted potential. The first two movies were kind of fun but they never lived up to the premise.
marvel72
marvel72 - 10/5/2023, 9:16 AM
Interested in seeing the trailer,also release Conan The Barbarian on 4k blu-ray.
theFUZZ008
theFUZZ008 - 10/5/2023, 9:19 AM
A dark reboot? Nice. Original.
Izaizaiza
Izaizaiza - 10/5/2023, 11:03 AM
I gotta say, although the chainmail bikini is "iconic", it's also stupid as hell. I don't see how they can have a "darker and more grounded" version of the character while including something so comedically dumb
ComicBandit
ComicBandit - 10/5/2023, 12:54 PM
Once again, a Hollywood creative who has never actually created anything of note decides to change something a real creative made that people have loved for years just to suit their own personal and un-needed opinion and agenda. If you aren't interested in that kind of motivation for something that is already established canon by the creator, then you should have stayed away from the movie or made something else. Stop messing with source material of other creatives whose work you are simply riding on to make a buck.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 10/5/2023, 2:07 PM
@ComicBandit - Sorry you don't get to watch a rape, I guess?
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 10/5/2023, 2:08 PM
To all the dudes complaining that you don't get to see a rape in this movie, sincerely: seek help.
Shivermetimbers
Shivermetimbers - 10/7/2023, 4:20 PM
Cool that they arent doing the rape thing. Even as a man, it is always difficult to watch those scenes. Wonder what they will do instead. I thought this could be a low key good movie, but seeing some of the cast has me thinking it will be more like a straight to DVD (yes, not streaming, DVD) quality movie.
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