One would think thatBryan Singer, who, in addition to getting fired off the upcomingBohemian Rhapsodybecause he couldn’t show up to work like a professional, has also weathered numerous allegations of sexual assault, should be persona non grata to studios. Even if you’re willing to overlook the claims of young men who have spoken out against Singer, you still have a guy who’s bad for your bottom line because he’s proven to be notoriously unreliable. And yet today we have a story of Millennium looking to pay Singer “top dollar” to direct a new adaptation ofRed Sonja.
According toTHR, “Millennium is financing and producing the new version ofSonjaand is hoping to start a franchise and capture the audience that turned out for Warner Bros.‘Wonder Woman.” For those unfamiliar withRed Sonja, the title character is a spinoff ofConan the Barbarianand was previously adapted into a movie in 1985 starringBrigitte Nielsen.
For their part, Millennium says they’re willing to work with Singer (who doesn’t even have an agency because he was dropped by WME earlier this year; he’s negotiating this with attorney), because “none of the allegations seem to have merit,” says an insider. And that’s just so freaking dumb because even if you’re willing to ignore those allegations, do you really want to invite that controversy and have it hanging over your movie? Set aside the morality (since I’m not going to look to a Hollywood studio for that); it’s just bad business to have a guy as unreliable and shady as Singer at the helm of your movie, especially when you’re trying to start a franchise.
Perhaps you could make the argument that Singer’s name is valuable because you can slap “From the Director ofX-Men” on the poster, and while that may be true, it certainly wasn’t enough of a draw forJack the Giant Slayer, so why would it be any different forRed Sonja? Also, let’s not overlook the dozens of qualified female directors who could probably make a kick-assRed Sonjamovie and do it without the stink Singer brings to this project.
This could all be an attempt by Singer’s people to rehabilitate his image by leaking talk of the negotiations, but if so, then Millennium should shut this down quickly. They can still make theirRed Sonjamovie, but they’d be smart to push aside Singer and announce they’re looking for a woman to helm this movie.
