Millennium Media's Red Sonja has not had the smoothest of journeys to the screen, but we recently learned that the reboot had enlisted a new director in M.J. Bassett, and the movie has now found its lead.
THR (via SFFGazette.com) reports that production is already underway in Bulgaria, with Revenge star Matilda Lutz taking over from Hannah John Kamen as the titular warrior after the Ant-Man and The Wasp actress was forced to part ways with the project due to a scheduling conflict.
The cast will also feature Wallis Day as Annisia, Robert Sheehan as Draygan, Michael Bisping as Hawk, Martyn Ford as General Karlak and Eliza Matengu as Amarak.
Brigitte Nielsen previously played Red Sonja in the 1985 movie of the same name. It was slaughtered by critics at the time and wasn't a big hit for MGM, but has since gone on to find a cult following.
“I’ve wanted to make a Red Sonja movie since I was a teenager — she has been a powerful presence for me and a character that I have always wanted to bring to the screen with my own voice and vision. When I met Matilda Lutz, I knew she had all the magic I was looking for and could see the complexity and depth she would bring to Sonja,” Bassett said in a statement.
“M.J. is an amazing filmmaker with fantastic vision and Matilda was absolutely brilliant in Revenge that we knew she was right for this role the moment we saw her — making them the perfect duo for Red Sonja,” added Millennium Media president Jeffrey Greenstein.
In addition to her blistering performance in Revenge, Lutz has appeared in the likes of Zone 414, Rings, and A Classic Horror Story. Bassett’s previous projects include Solomon Kane, Endangered Species, Rogue, and episodes of Freeform’s Motherland: Fort Salem.
No release date has been announced.