The long-gestating Red Sonja movie has found its star in Ant-Man and the Wasp's Hannah John-Kamen. The character of Red Sonja first appeared in a Conan the Barbarian comic in 1973, though she later graduated to her own series. The "sword and sorcery" hero was first brought to the big screen in a 1985 movie starring Brigitte Nelson; though it included Arnold Schwarzenegger, it wasn't a direct spin-off of his Conan the Barbarian. Since then, Red Sonja has mainly kept to the pages of comic books.
For years now, a Red Sonja film has been in various stages of development. The earliest iteration would've seen Rose McGowan play the warrior with Robert Rodriguez directing. By 2011, that had fallen through, and Red Sonja switched hands. In 2018, X-Men director Bryan Singer became attached to direct, but the outpouring of sexual misconduct allegations led to fan outcry over his involvement. Singer was officially removed and replaced with Joey Soloway in 2019. In February, Tasha Huo signed on as screenwriter.
Now Red Sonja has added another player to its growing team: The leading lady herself. Millennium Media announced today Hannah John-Kamen has been cast as Red Sonja for the film. No further details, such as a production start date or other casting notices, were given. Nonetheless, this is major development for a long in-development movie that has been without a star. Soloway said in a statement:
“Hannah is a very talented actress who we’ve been following for years and she IS Red Sonja. 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.”
Over the years, John-Kamen has racked up an impressive list of genre-based roles. She is best known for playing Ava Star, aka Ghost, in 2018's MCU flick Ant-Man and the Wasp and for appearing in all 5 seasons of Syfy's Killjoys. Additionally, John-Kamen had small roles in projects like Ready Player One and Game of Thrones. She'll next be seen in Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City as Jill Valentine; that, plus her new role as Red Sonja, confirms John-Kamen is finally becoming a bigger player within the sci-fi/fantasy realm. It will be exciting to see her graduate to these leading roles after years of being more of a supporting player.
With John-Kamen now on board and Soloway still attached as director, Red Sonja can perhaps make some real progress this year. Again, as a timeline wasn't given, it's hard to say exactly when fans can expect it to premiere, or even start on production. However, Red Sonja can perhaps begin filming later this year. A potential complication would be John-Kamen's involvement with the forthcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but as she is not confirmed to return, that might not be an issue. For fans who have waited a long time to see an updated Red Sonja movie, this is a thrilling update that bodes well for the future.
Source: Millennium Media