It's been a while since anyone has talked about the Red Sonja reboot/remake. Robert Rodriguez has long since abandoned it as a possible directorial effort; his proposed star and former fiancee Rose McGowan ended up joining Conan the Barbarian instead; and last year's rumors about Megan Fox starring turned out be nothing but hot air, not-so-shockingly enough.
Now producer Avi Lerner (who's involved with the Conan reboot as well) has spoken out about the fiery-haired warrior's next cinematic outing and says that it has a director in Simon West (Con Air, The Mechanic) and a possible starlet as well - in the unexpected, but pleasant form of Amber Heard.
Red Sonja was based off a character created by Robert E. Howard, but her first official appearance was in Marvel's Conan the Barbarian comic book series.The character was given the film treatment in 1985, and was played by Brigitte Nielsen as a busty fighter on a quest for revenge against an evil queen. Arnold Schwarzenegger costarred in the film as Lord Kalidor - which admittedly is confusing, since Red Sonja supposedly takes place in the same fictional prehistoric world as Schwarzenegger's Conan movies. But moving on...
Lerner informed Empire that the Red Sonja reboot is a priority once post-production has been complete on the 3D Conan reboot, and before a planned sequel gets underway. The producer also admitted that "an English guy named Simon West" is attached to direct the pic, which will mark West's second action film revolving around a weapon-wielding bombshell after the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider adaptation.
Amber Heard - known to some as the pair of legs that keeps showing up in the previews for Drive Angry 3D - is apparently one of Lerner's choices to possibly star in Red Sonja - though he admits she's not yet aware of that fact. While the blonde and streamlined actress isn't really at all a physical match to play the red-haired and muscular character, the idea of Heard donning a chain-mail bikini for the part probably won't upset too many fans.
When one also considers the fact that the original Red Sonja movie was a box office flop and is widely regarded as an unintentionally hilarious fantasy action/adventure pic, it becomes difficult to argue that a reboot would be treading on sacred ground.
Simon West will be re-teaming with his Con Air leading man (and Heard's Drive Angry costar) Nicolas Cage for the upcoming thriller The Medallion, and will likely get to work on Red Sonja thereafter. That's assuming that the Conan reboot does well enough in theaters this fall for his female compatriot to get another shot at having her own hit film franchise - and chances are good that it will.
Would you see a Red Sonja reboot/remake with Amber Heard?
Source: Empire