The release date and official trailer for long-gestating Red Sonja reboot have been finally unveiled.
Written by Tasha Huo and directed by M.J. Bassett the fantasy is based on the best-selling comic book series and follows barbarian huntress Red Sonja, who must unite a group of unlikely warriors to face off against the evil tyrant Emperor Draygan, and his deadly bride Dark Annisia.
Red Sonja was created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith in Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian #23 in 1973; although the series adapted Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, Sonja is an original creation, inspired by Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino.
The character, a fiery warrior whose prowess in battle matched even Conan's, proved popular enough to get her own spin-off comic.
Marvel eventually lost the rights to the character, who is now published by Dynamite Comics.
During the barbarian movie craze of the 1980s, she hit the big screen in 1985's Red Sonja, where she was portrayed by Danish model Brigitte Nielsen in her movie debut; it also starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Conan-like warrior Kalidor and Sandahl Bergman, who had starred alongside Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian, as the villainous Queen Gedren.
The reboot stars Matilda Lutz, Robert Sheehan, Wallis Day, Michael Bisping, Luca Pasqualino, Rhona Mitra, Martyn Ford, Ben Radcliffe, Eliza Matengu, Veronica Ferres, Phillip Winchester, and Trevor Eve.
Different versions were in development for at least 20 years prior to this iteration as different writers, directors, and financiers grappled with the project.
In the trailer, Lutz plays the flame-haired barbarian warrior as she seeks vengeance, battles monsters, and confronts death in a gladiatorial arena. M.J. Bassett (Rogue) directs the film, which had been stuck in development hell for decades.
The footage follows Sonja (Lutz, Magpie) as she swears revenge on the raiders who killed her people, sending her on a quest that eventually lands her in the clutches of the villainous warlord Draygan The Magnificent (Robert Sheehan, The Umbrella Academy) and pitted against his deadly, eyebrow-less bride, Dark Annisia (Wallis Day, Batwoman).
In a nod to the character's fantasy origins, she battles not only Draygan's warriors, but also a massive horned monster. And yes, she does find herself in her comics incarnation's infamous "chainmail bikini," which is lampshaded in the trailer's closing moments; Sonja is concerned that it provides her little protection, and the gladiatorial armorer who hands it to her agrees, but contends that "the crowd will love it."
The reboot is produced by Avi Lerner, Mark Canton p.g.a, Courtney Solomon p.g.a., Luke Lieberman, Les Weldon, Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman, Joe Gatta, MJ Bassett, Jeffrey Greenstein, Jonathan Yunger, and Yariv Lerner.
Executive producers include Trevor Short, Darina Pavlova, Boaz Davidson, Tanner Mobley, Nick Barrucci, Dorothy Canton, Scott Karol, and Heidi Jo Markel. Co-producers include Shannon Lieberman.
"Red Sonja" will be released in theaters on August 15, 2025.
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