‘Red Sonja’: Sacha Baron Cohen Reportedly Turned Down $7M To Play Villainous Sorcerer Kulan Gath In Fantasy Film

Earlier in the week, it was announced that Millennium Media’s reboot of the 1985 fantasy action flick “Red Sonja” had started shooting. However, the big reveal in that update was that the studio had quietly switched out director Joey Soloway (“Transparent”) and lead actress Hannah John-Kamen (“Ant-Man & The Wasp”) for director M.J. Bassett (“Rogue”) and a new lead Matilda Lutz (“Revenge”). And additionally, it looks like the project almost landed a big-name actor for a key role before that shakeup. 

In the latest THR newsletter, British comedian/actor Sacha Baron Cohen (“Trial of The Chicago 7,” “Borat”) was reportedly approached during the Soloway version of the film and offered a hefty $7 million to play the film’s sorcerer villain, Kulan Gath. This tidbit could be a potential hint to what Millennium is willing to spend on the reboot’s budget to attract talent.

READ MORE: ‘Red Sonja’: Director M.J. Bassett Replaces Joey Soloway, Matilda Lutz Takes Over Titular Role

It’s unclear why exactly the Oscar-nominated actor turned down the fantasy action film, but when he rejected the project the reboot was eventually retooled with script rewrites, and Bassett came on to replace Soloway as the film’s director. Production is currently underway in Bulgaria, with plans to shoot scenes in Greece as well. 

Interestingly enough, Kulan Gath is a character that is still being used by Marvel Comics and has appeared in the pages of various comics such as “X-Men,” “Avengers,” and first appeared in Marvel’s incarnation of “Conan The Barbarian” back in the early 1970s. The evil sorcerer seems to be able to be used by both Marvel and the current “Red Sonja” publisher, Dynamite.

Actors that have nabbed supporting parts in the action pic include Wallis Day, Robert Sheehan, Michael Bisping, Martyn Ford, Eliza Matengu, Manal El-Feitury, and Katrina Durden.

We’re still waiting on an official theatrical release date from Millennium but it wouldn’t be hard to imagine “Red Sonja” swinging into theaters sometime in 2023-2024.