14 DAY TRIAL // “Red Sonja,” produced by Robert Rodriguez and starring ex-fiancé Rose McGowan, has stumbled upon yet another huge bump in the road. In fact, this one is so big that the entire project is about to be overhauled, starting with the script and ending with the leading actress. McGowan is out and an offer has been made to Megan Fox, Empire Online informs.
Though this was a project that got off the ground with much difficulty, last we heard about it, everything was going just swell. Then, McGowan injured herself pretty badly while shooting for it, required surgery and had to take some time out. And then she broke up from Robert Rodriguez and talk started making the rounds that her new-found love of plastic surgery was costing her role after role. Truth being told, this most recent report could be totally unrelated to McGowan and Rodriguez calling it quits on their much-mediated romance.
A possible replacement for her seems to have been found in the person of Megan Fox. “According to Pajiba’s source, the shadowy and mysterious Hollywood Cog, the offer is out to Megan Fox, who to be fair, is a bit closer in age to the ‘innocent teenager who metamorphosizes into an unparalleled warrior’ than the 36-year-old Rose (Brigitte Nielsen was 22 for the 1985 version). The word on the street is that the project as it previously existed has basically been scrapped, with director Doug Aarniokoski (Highlander: Endgame) also departing, and new writers being sought to draft further drafts of David N White’s script,” Empire says.
Of the old cast, only Rodriguez seems to have remained attached. “Robert Rodriguez does still seem to be attached as producer though. He told MTV not long ago that Red Sonja’s future depended on the box-office performance of Conan. But re-branding the package as a potential solo franchise for the hot-but-untested Fox (Jennifer’s Body was a two-hander; Transformers’ human performers are irrelevant) might just, we’re thinking, make the Hollywood suits that much more inclined to sign some cheques,” the same movie-oriented e-zine goes on to say.
As of now, “Red Sonja” is in what is known as production limbo. Though clearly one of those projects that target a niche fanbase, the film did manage to get even non-fans interested, especially after the teaser poster with Rose McGowan was released a while back. Whether the film will ever get to see the light of day is anybody’s guess right now.