Every time I hear anything about a Red Sonja movie, I cringe a little. As a longtime fan of the character, I want to be excited, but usually my feelings of apprehension win out over anything good. In the right hands, Red Sonja is an amazing, kick-butt nuanced character fighting through a “kill or be killed” world. In the wrong hands, she is a one-dimensional caricature of an archaic male fantasy. If even in the comic books I feel uncomfortable with certain stories surrounding Sonja, I don’t want to think about what they might be like on the big screen.
After reading The Hollywood Reporter‘s feature on the latest stab at a Red Sonja movie, that familiar wave of anxiety overtakes me. The piece discusses the long path, multiple scripts, and many directors it has taken to get to the current version actually filming right now in Bulgaria. Included was an interview with the film’s writer and director, M.J. Bassett. Some of Bassett’s comments make me feel like she doesn’t understand what many fans love about the character, and that many of Sonja’s subtleties will be cast aside in Bassett’s film.
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