According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ant-Man and The Wasp star Hannah John-Kamen has officially been tapped for the leading role in Millennium’s long-in-development film adaptation of Red Sonja, based on Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith’s sword and sorcery comic book character. The sword-wielding hero made her first live-action debut in the 1985 version where she was portrayed by Brigitte Nielsen. Actresses who were previously attached for the role are Rose McGowan and Amber Heard.
“Hannah is a very talented actress who we’ve been following for years and she IS Red Sonja,” Director Joey Soloway said in a statement. “Her range, sensibilities, and strength are all qualities we have been looking for and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this journey together.”
This marks John-Kamen’s first major feature project as the titular lead after appearing as a villain or as a supporting character in a number of high-profile films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Tomb Raider, Ready Player One, and Ant-Man and the Wasp. She will next be seen as Jill Valentine in Sony Pictures’ Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.
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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.
Pick up your copy of the original comic book here!
The reboot film has been in development since 2010 where a handful of directors had been attached to helm the project. In 2019, Emmy winner Joey Soloway (Transparent) was ultimately hired to take over the director’s chair with Tasha Huo signing on as the writer.
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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, 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.
