Hannah John-Kamen has signed on to play the title character in director Joey Soloway's Red Sonja, which is based on the comic book character created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith (while drawing inspiration from the works of Conan creator Robert E. Howard) in 1973. Red Sonja was previously brought to the screen in a 1985 film (watch it HERE), where she was played by Brigitte Nielsen.
John-Kamen's credits include Ant-Man and the Wasp, Tomb Raider, Ready Player One, and the TV shows Killjoys and The Stranger. Later this year, she'll be seen playing video game character Jill Valentine in Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.
Soloway, who has written the screenplay for Red Sonja with Tasha Huo, had this to say about John-Kamen's casting:
Hannah is a very talented actress who we've been following for years and she IS Red Sonja. Her range, sensibilities and strength are all qualities we have been looking for and we couldn't be more excited to embark on this journey together."
The project is set up at Millennium Media, and the company's president Jeffrey Greenstein said:
Hannah's talent and take for Red Sonja, combined with Joey's vision for the film is the perfect pairing to bring this reboot to life."
Greenstein is producing the film with Mark Canton, Courtney Solomon, Christa Campbell, Lati Grobman, Andrea Sperling, Yariv Lerner, Jonathan Yunger, Les Weldon, Joe Gatta, and Tanner Mobley. Avi Lerner, Boaz Davidson, Trevor Short, Luke Lieberman, Nick Barrucci, and Dorothy Canton serve as executive producers.
Although Red Sonja made her first appearance in the pages of a Marvel comic book, the character's comics are now published by Dynamite Entertainment.
This film reboot has been in development hell for thirteen years, but it looks like it's finally going to be moving into production with Soloway at the helm and John-Kamen in the lead.