Bryan Singer has withstood better than most the multiple sexual misconduct allegations against him, and with his Bohemian Rhapsody making a mint at the box office and earning a Best Picture nomination, he’s seemed pretty bulletproof. And even now as Millennium Films puts Singer’s Red Sonja movie on hold, the director remains attached.
Millenium Films CEO and producer Avi Lerner has put Red Sonja on the shelf…for now, following a new accusation of rape against Singer that emerged in The Atlantic last month. Immediately following the report, Lerner issued an ill-advised response calling it “agenda-driven fake news”, and promising to stand by his director. To some degree he’s still doing that by refusing to let Singer go, despite calls for him to do so.
Red Sonja is the Marvel Comics character based in large part on the works of Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard. She’s shared stories alongside Conan as part of the sword ‘n sorcery genre, and a movie about her has been in the works for years. Previously Robert Rodriguez and Rose McGowan were going to team up on it, but that fell through.
With so many groups now pulling back from their support of Singer and Bohemian Rhapsody, I expect when Red Sonja gets going again it will be without his services. Just call it a hunch. [THR]
