Red Sonja Producer Claims New Film Will Be "Darker" Than Original
The new film won't be as whimsical as the previous adaptation.
The character of Red Sonja has been a staple of the fantasy genre for decades, and back in the '80s, she was brought to life by actor Brigitte Nielsen with an adventure that embraced the campy cinematic sensibilities of the time. A new take on the character is set to revive the franchise, with producer of the project Les Weldon hinting that this new interpretation of the iconic figure will be at least somewhat darker than audiences might be expecting. The filmmaker also confirmed that the project aimed to be a bit more grounded than some other films in the genre, which meant not having to lean heavily on CGI. The new Red Sonja doesn't yet have a release date.
"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."
With that previous film being connected to the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring Conan the Barbarian films, the experience borrowed a similar tone, so while Weldon teased we could expect creatures, it will likely be at least a bit more gritty than the 1985 adaptation.
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.
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