Bryan Singer’s Red Sonja Paused Amid Sexual Abuse Allegations

Millennium Films has put the film—for which Singer would have reportedly been paid $10 million—on hold.
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©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Last month, Bryan Singer was accused of sexually abusing and raping underage boys in a report published by The Atlantic. (The filmmaker denied the claims and accused the report of being “a homophobic smear piece.”) Shortly afterward, Millennium Films announced that the company would stand by Singer and continue with its plans for the filmmaker to direct Red Sonja, an action film about the Marvel superhero who, after being raped by soldiers, developed fighting abilities to wreak revenge against her abusers. “I know the difference between agenda-driven fake news and reality, and I am very comfortable with this decision,” producer Avi Lerner said in a statement that ignited its own firestorm of controversy. “In America, people are innocent until proven otherwise.”

Well, two weeks later, Millennium Films has apparently thought better of its decision to go full-steam ahead with Singer—by putting the project on hold, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which confirmed that the film “is no longer on the company’s slate and it is not being shopped at this year’s European Film Market in Berlin.” Had Millennium Films gone ahead with the film, Singer would have reportedly been paid $10 million to direct.

Last week, Red Sonja producer Avi Lerner May have presaged the film’s fate by distancing himself from his own controversial statement—claiming the remarks had been written by a crisis P.R. rep. “I don’t want to apologize. I just want to clarify [the statement],” Lerner told The Hollywood Reporter. “I think victims should be heard and this allegation should be taken very, very seriously. I just don’t agree to judge by the Twitter. I want [the accused] to be judged by the court.”

Last month, Time’s Up released a statement about Singer saying those who hire abusers “perpetuate a broken system that rewards powerful people and allows them to act without consequence.” Just last week, the British Film Academy suspended Singer’s nomination for Bohemian Rhapsody, noting that the suspension of his nod would “remain in place until the outcome of the allegations has been resolved.”

Rami Malek, meanwhile, spoke out against the Bohemian Rhapsody filmmaker last week, as the favored best-actor contender entered the final lead-up to the February 24 Academy Awards. “[M]y situation with Bryan, it was not pleasant, not at all,” Malek said of the chaotic production. “My heart goes out to anyone who has to live through anything like what I've heard and what is out there.”