The Red Sonja Movie Is Once Again In Jeopardy
I'll admit, it doesn't take a whole lot to go wrong in order to convince me that something I've really wanted to happen is, for whatever reason, just not meant to be. There's absolutely something to be said for persistence and defying long odds and overcoming numerous obstacles ... but how many unsubtle signs does the universe need to toss into your path before realizing that it's just not going to happen? At some point, you've simply got to wave the white flag, pat yourself on the back for a good effort, and accept that enough's enough, don't you?
Well, maybe not. That is, if the folks behind the long, long, long-delayed "Red Sonja" movie have anything to say about it.
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the production has suffered yet another setback. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the U.S. immigration office has become the latest threat preventing the next live-action adaptation of the Marvel Comics character from becoming a reality. M.J. Bassett, the current director attached to the project and known for writing and directing "Silent Hill: Revelation," 2020's Megan Fox-starring "Rogue," and directing various episodes of "Ash vs Evil Dead," "Altered Carbon," and the upcoming "Terminal List," has taken the drastic step of filing a lawsuit against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The move comes as a last-ditch effort to save the production, as Bassett maintains that the government has been delaying her request to fly to Europe to begin production without due cause, putting the entire film at risk. The report indicates that a key part of the complaint, filed this past Monday in the federal California court system, has to do with the USCIS delaying her immigration process because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. To Bassett, this puts her at risk of losing up to $1 million "by making it impracticable, if not actually impossible for her to travel to Greece and Bulgaria for pre-production and filming and, just as importantly, making the film uninsurable, and therefore dooming it before it ever begins."
Principal photography for "Red Sonja" was revealed to finally start on June 20, 2022, though with preproduction commencing in Bulgaria on March 28. It's not yet known if those dates stand any realistic chance of remaining on schedule, even if this lawsuit is ultimately ruled in Bassett's favor.
Maybe Red Sonja is cursed?
And now for one of my favorite aspects of these kinds of articles: a lengthy rundown of all the various production difficulties and roadblocks that have assailed long in-development movies like "Red Sonja" and prove that the universe itself clearly has some sort of inexplicable grudge against it. Almost 40 years after the original 1985 Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring "Red Sonja" movie, Hollywood has yet to get another adaptation of the comic successfully off the ground.
At one point, Robert Rodriguez was meant to direct actor Rose McGowen in the lead role. Later, disgraced director Bryan Singer stepped up to take a shot at directing ... until all those sexual assault allegations came out and put the entire movie on hold. The most recent iteration of the production had Jill Soloway behind the director's chair and "Ant-Man and the Wasp" star Hannah John-Kamen attached as the lead ... but both of those individuals have since dropped out. Now the film is once again in question because the universe, the movie gods, and whoever is apparently running this simulation that we call "life" clearly all have it out for this movie.
We'll continue to monitor the situation as any and all updates come in but, based on prior history, we don't recommend that Red Sonja fans hold their breath for a happy ending to this saga. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me approximately a dozen times and, well, I'll let you fill in the blank there.