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Ant-Man and the Wasp's Hannah John-Kamen to play Marvel hero Red Sonja

Photo credit: Marvel Studios
Photo credit: Marvel Studios

Ant-Man and the Wasp star Hannah John-Kamen has signed up to play another Marvel Comics character.

The British actress has signed on in the lead role for the long-awaited Red Sonja movie, which was first announced all the way back in 2017 on the heels of Wonder Woman's success.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, this live-action adaptation of Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith's Marvel Comics character will come from Transparent's Joey Soloway as director with a script from Netflix's Tomb Raider animated series writer Tasha Huo.

Soloway announced on Wednesday (May 5): "Hannah is a very talented actress who we've been following for years and she IS Red Sonja. Her range, sensibilities and strength are all qualities we have been looking for and we couldn't be more excited to embark on this journey together."

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

Red Sonja was conceived by Marvel as an amalgamation of various female heroines from the Conan the Barbarian lore created by Robert E Howard for 1930s pulp stories.

A previous film version was released in 1985 starring Celebrity Big Brother star Brigitte Nielsen, as a quasi-spinoff of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Conan films (though Arnie played a different character in Red Sonja).

While Marvel was the original home for Red Sonja from the 1970s through the late 1980s, Dynamite Entertainment took over publication from 2005 and will serve as the basis for the new movie. Thus, Red Sonja won't be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Photo credit: Rolf Konow - Getty Images
Photo credit: Rolf Konow - Getty Images

Hannah John-Kamen takes on this iconic role after previously playing a villain in the MCU as the Ghost in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp.

She has since had the lead in Peacock's recent TV adaptation of Brave New World, and is also set to play iconic video game character Jill Valentine in the reboot Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City with Soloway.

Red Sonja doesn't yet have a release date.

Watch: Angelina Jolie Looks Unrecognizable with Blonde Hair in the First Look at Marvel's Eternals


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