Director Robert "Planet Terror" Rodriguez will produce a new take on comic book heroine "Red Sonja", starring actress Rose McGowan.
The character is loosely based on "Red Sonya of Rogatino" from author Robert E. Howard's short story "The Shadow of the Vulture" ("The Magic Carpet", January 1934), rewritten by Roy Thomas as a 1973 'Conan' story for Marvel Comics "Conan the Barbarian" (1973).
Thomas also based his 'Red Sonja' on another Howard character, 'Dark Agnes de Chastillon', a swords-woman in 16th-century France.
'Red Sonja' is different from Howard's original 'Red Sonya'. Besides tweaking the spelling of her name, Thomas transformed her from a sword- and pistol-wielding supporting character of the late Renaissance into a sword-wielding heroine of Conan's prehistoric 'Hyborian Age'.
I was surprised when Rose brought me a script of Red Sonja," Rodriguez said. "Sonja was strong, smart, cunning — just about everything she'd have to be to survive."
"I do have a very scrappy-do personality," said McGowan. "The story has characters trashed by life who fight their way back. That is my theme."The origin story, to be directed by Douglas Aarniokoski, will be based on both the Marvel/Dynamite comic books as well as Howard's original pulp magazine stories.
"Howard's goal was always, first and foremost, to spin a good yarn and to entertain," said Rodriguez.
"That's our goal..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Red Sonja"...
