Bryan Singer has been dropped from the Red Sonja film that’s currently in production at Millennium Films, according to THR, but not for the reason you may think.
Singer, who was set to direct the film, was fired by the studio not because of the reports of him sexually assaulting underaged boys but because the production company was finding it impossible to secure a US distributor with Singer involved.
The film is reportedly currently on hold, but it’s unknown whether or not it will get a new director any time soon.
In an interview with THR, original Red Sonja actress from the 1985 film Brigitte Nielsen said she’d love for the new film to hire a female director.
“But why don’t they go with a great female director? Like Susanne Bier, a great Danish director? That would be fantastic!” she said. “And she would put me in Red Sonja because I need to be in there! Or you could do Patty Jenkins! She’s an incredible director!
“This is a huge female character, and I can see a fantastic female director. Let me have my first project as a director! I’ll do it! (Laughs) I’m kidding. But a female director wouldn’t be a bad idea if Singer is eventually off the project for whatever is going to happen. I’m not one to say.”
The character of Red Sonja was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, and made her first appearance in Conan The Barbarian #23. She was partially based on Robert E Howard’s characters Red Sonya of Rogatino and Dark Agnes de Chastillon. She is a sword-master in peak human physical condition and a martial arts expert, with much knowledge and experience of fighting the supernatural, and is famous for her bikini armour made of scale mail.
Red Sonja doesn’t yet have a release date. Get all the latest sci-fi news with every issue of SciFiNow.
