According to Deadline, Revenge star Matilda Lutz has officially been tapped for the titular leading role in Millennium Media’s live-action film adaptation of Red Sonja, based on Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith’s sword and sorcery comic book character. She will be replacing Ant-Man and Wasp star Hannah John Kamen, who had to exit the long-in-development project due to scheduling conflicts.
In addition, The Umbrella Academy fan-favorite Robert Sheehan, Wallis Day (Krypton), Michael Bisping (xXx: Return of Xander Cage), Martyn Ford (F9: The Fast Saga), Eliza Matengu (Thor: Love and Thunder), Manal El-Feitury (Code Red) and Katrina Durden (Doctor Strange) have also been cast in the fantasy comic book film, which has finally started its production. Sheehan is set to portray the role of Draygan, while Day will take on the role of Annisia, the titular character’s wicked half-sister.
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The film, which has been in development since 2010, is being directed by M.J. Bassett from a screenplay co-written by Emmy winner Joey Soloway and Tasha Huo with Soloway initially attached to helm the project last year.
“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,” Bassett said in a statement. “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.”
Red Sonja is a sword-and-sorcery character that was created by Robert E. Howard, writer Roy Thomas, and artist Barry Windsor Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973. The character is described as fiery and strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Conan while refusing his advances. Her solo comics are still being published today through Dynamite Entertainment.
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The Red Sonja movie is being produced by Mark Canton (300, Power) and Courtney Solomon (After) will produce along with Christa Campbell and Lati Grobman on behalf of Campbell Grobman Films. Producers also include Topple’s Andrea Sperling, Millennium’s Yariv Lerner, Jeffrey Greenstein, Jonathan Younger, Les Weldon, Joe Gatta, and Tanner Mobley with Millennium’s Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson, and Trevor Short, Dorothy Canton, and Luke Lieberman set as executive producers.
