The director carousel for Red Sonja comes to a halt as Millennium Films hire Transparent creator Jill Soloway to write and direct the remake, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Bryan Singer, who was originally attached to direct, was removed from the project by Millennium Films after sources published an investigative article on claims that Singer raped several underage victims. The studio placed Red Sonja on hold in February to decipher their options at director.
In the wake of Singer’s exodus, Millennium Films CEO, Avi Lerner issued a controversial statement to The Hollywood Reporter labeling the article about Singer’s “agenda driven fake news,” to which he intended to let Singer remain in the director’s chair. Lerner would later hire crisis PR guru Howard Bragman.
Red Sonja has been in development hell with Millennium for over ten years, and Soloway’s hiring illustrates the company’s willingness to get the film finished. In 2008, Robert Rodriquez paired up with Rose McGowan to develop the film, but their project never came to fruition and writers left one by one. The comic book character was created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith and inspired a poorly-received 1985 adaptation starring Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Soloway will become the third director to tackle the second adaptation of Red Sonja.