Red Sonja Movie Reboot: 10 Things We Need To See
The She-Devil with a Sword is well overdue a second stab at the big screen.
It's been 33 years since sword-swinging comic book heroine Red Sonja last graced the big screen. A new movie based around the fan favourite has been stuck in development hell for quite some time, but there are indications that we might be inching closer to a second Red Sonja movie, with news that writer Ashley Edward Miller has been hired to have a crack at the script.
While loosely based on a character from Conan creator Robert E Howard, the Red Sonja we know was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor Smith for Marvel Comics back in 1973, as an off-shoot of the Conan the Barbarian comic series.
However, the flame-haired She-Devil with a Sword soon became a hugely popular character in her own right, and 45 years after her introduction her comics (now published by Dynamite Entertainment) remain bestsellers.
Yet despite the character's popularity and obvious cinematic potential, which most fans would agree the 1985 movie didn't come close to fully realising, Red Sonja has only appeared in live action once in the years since: portrayed by Angelica Bridges in a 1998 episode of the largely forgotten Conan TV series.
If this latest attempt to reboot Red Sonja is the one that finally takes flight, it's going to come with a significant weight of fan expectation on its scantily-clad shoulders.
10. A Bad-Ass Lead Actress
This first requirement is, admittedly, a bit of a no-brainer. She's a feared warrior woman who's chopped off more heads than most of us have had hot dinners, so naturally we need an actress who exudes toughness.
Director Richard Fleischer's 1985 movie gave model-turned-actress Brigitte Nielsen the title role. At 6'1'', Nielsen clearly had the stature for it, but she was somewhat lacking when it came to gravitas. Likewise, ex-Baywatch actress Angelica Bridges also left a lot to be desired in that department.
Back in 2008, Rose McGowan was attached to the role in a Robert Rodriguez-produced reboot that failed to get off the ground. It certainly wasn't hard to see her embodying the character's attitude, but at a mere 5'4'', McGowan might have been a tad bit too slight.
Amber Heard was also cited as a contender on another reboot that failed to launch in 2011, and it's certainly feasible that she could still take the role; her turn in Drive Angry proved she can play it tough.
However, Karen Gillan, as a 5'11'' redhead, obviously looks the part, and her work in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle proves she's got both the dramatic and physical prowess to more than do justice to the role.