Red Sonja Star Shares What Sets Reboot Apart From the Original

Red Sonja is set to be brought to life in a new film starring Matilda Lutz, and while earlier versions of the character showcased the warrior's physique with some of the skimpiest attire imaginable, Lutz herself claims the new project will avoid the "male-gazed orientation" of earlier comics and films. This will come as a relief to many fans, who will get to witness the full power of the warrior in the new adaptation, though just how different this take will be is yet to be seen, as a trailer for the new Red Sonja hasn't been publicly released and the movie doesn't have a release date.

"What I can tell about Red Sonja, is that the first ones and the comics were [made] with a very male-gazed orientation. This is a completely different story, and it's very women-empowered, which I loved about the script," Lutz shared with CBR.

One of the last updates we got about the project came in September of 2023, in which producer Les Weldon teased the film might be darker than audiences are expecting.

"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," Weldon revealed to Collider. "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."  

Red Sonja is derived from the sword and sorcery comic books of the same name by Dynamite Entertainment, based on the heroine created by Robert E. Howard and adapted by Roy Thomas.

The new reboot stars Matilda Lutz (Revenge, Rings, Medici) as the fearsome warrior, Wallis Day (Sex/Life, Batwoman) as Annisia, and Robert Sheehan (The Umbrella Academy, Misfits) as Draygan with M.J. Bassett (Solomon Kane) directing and a script written by Tasha Huo (Netflix's Tomb Raider).

Stay tuned for updates on Red Sonja.

Are you looking forward to the new movie? Let us know in the comments!