Back in the ’70s, Marvel had a surprising hit with more adult-themed, moodier comics starring Conan the Barbarian. So, writer Roy Thomas took the name of an obscure Robert E. Howard character, Red Sonja, and made her into a barbarian queen with a sword and unusually skimpy armor. She’s been in comics ever since, and after a less-than-successful bout with the movies in 1985 with Brigitte Nielsen in the role, she might be coming to TV screens via Bryan Singer.
Singer is reportedly aiming for an “R-rated” series, which more or less limits Sonja’s options to premium cable or streaming. It’s being paid for by genre grindhouse The Weinstein Company through their Dimension Films label, so this might be what that Red Sonja movie Robert Rodriguez was planning turned into.
The main question is what it might be about. While some writers, most recently Gail Simone, have had success exploring the roots of the comic, most Red Sonja stories are basically the same plot as Conan stories. A wizard annoys Red Sonja, she fights his pet monster, and then murders him, usually following the immutable laws of Conan. Oh, also Sonja can only sleep with a man if he defeats her in “fair combat,” although that’s largely been put by the wayside.
The main question now is how this will do because another female barbarian warrior is working on coming back, and she’s wearing pants. Maybe they could fight it out for cultural supremacy?
(Via Bleeding Cool)
