The first trailer for the Red Sonja reboot has dropped, and it includes a shot that suggests the story will feature a major twist.
Red Sonya was a Robert E Howard character who debuted in a 1934 short story and inspired Marvel huntress Red Sonja, created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith in 1973.
Inspired by the success of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan movies, she made the move into movies via 1985’s Red Sonja, with Brigitte Nielson playing the title character.
Since then, there have been repeated attempts to reboot the barbarian character, but they lingered in development hell, until now, when a brand-new take might feature a pretty major twist. Here’s what we know…
Red Sonja is in US theaters from August 15, 2025, before hitting digital platforms on August 29.
As for the UK, Red Sonja will be available on digital platforms in August before heading to DVD and Blu-ray in September, with exact dates TBD.
Red Sonja trailer
The trailer for Red Sonja can be viewed below:
The movie is directed by M.J. Bassett, who has form on this front, having helmed the excellent Solomon Kane, based on another Robert E. Howard character.
While the script is by Tasha Huo, who wrote on The Witcher: Blood Origin, and Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.
Who’s in the cast?
Red Sonja stars Matilda Lutz (Revenge) as the titular hero, and Robert Sheehan (Misfits) as the film’s villain, with the main players listed below alongside the characters they play:
- Matilda Lutz as Red Sonja
- Robert Sheehan as Draygan
- Wallis Day as Annisia
- Michal Bisping as Hawk
- Veronica Ferres as Ashera
- Martyn Ford as General Karlak
- Eliza Matengu as Amarak
- Katrina Durden as Saevus
- Manal El-Feitury as Ayala
- Trever Eve as Maester Crudelis
Red Sonja plot
Red Sonja will depict how the warrior became a legend, with the film’s official synopsis as follows:
“Enslaved by an evil tyrant who wishes to destroy her people, barbarian huntress Red Sonja must unite a group of unlikely warriors to face off against Dragan The Magnificent and his deadly bride, Dark Annisia.”
While the story usually plays out in the fictional Hyborian Age of Robert E. Howard’s literature, we think there might be something post-apocalyptic about this version, thanks to the truck that appears a few seconds into the trailer. Or might time-travel even be involved in this adaptation?
Either way, that’s a pretty major departure from the source material, that puts an intriguing new spin on the story.
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