Producers of the upcoming Red Sonja reboot have fired embattled director Bryan Singer and announced his replacement: out-queer director Jill Soloway.
Soloway, best known for creating the show Transparent, came out as non-binary queer in 2017. Prior to their work on the series, Soloway also wrote and produced the acclaimed HBO series Six Feet Under.
Singer landed the job helming Red Sonja despite his firing from Bohemian Rhapsody late in shooting and several allegations of sexual misconduct. Millennium Films, the production company with the rights to Red Sonja, initially stood by Singer, though as more allegations of misconduct surfaced, they removed him from his role.
Soloway’s debut feature Afternoon Delight premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and nabbed Soloway the coveted Directing Award at the festival. Millennium Films has announced they will take on writing duties as well as directing chores on the big budget action film.
Created by Roy Thomas, Red Sonja spun off from his popular Conan the Barbarian stories and first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1973. After her family is murdered, a goddess bestows incredible fighting skills on Sonja, on the condition that she swear off sex with men unless they defeat her in combat.
The character previously received the cinematic treatment in 1985 with actress Bridgitte Nielsen playing the title role.
