A Conversation with "Red Sonja" director MJ Bassett and actor Matilda Lutz.

Elements of Madness

Known in some circles as "The She-Devil with a Sword," author Robert E. Howard's "Red Sonja" has been adapted from his novels into comics and, until recently, only one theatrical title. Director MJ Bassett has changed this with her Matilda Lutz-led adaptation, titled "Red Sonja," that released in theaters for one-night only on August 13th and is set for a VOD release on August 29th, unleashing a new tale with the Hyborian Age for audiences to experience.   Sitting down with EoM Contributor AJ Friar, Bassett and Lutz discuss how they each became attached to the project, how practical effects impacted the process, and a great deal more in this brief conversation.   Official Summary:   Captured. Chained. Forced to fight for survival. Red Sonja must battle her way through the blood-soaked pits of a tyrant’s empire and rally an army of outcasts to reclaim her freedom and take down Dragan and his ruthless bride, Dark Annisia.   Available on VOD August 29th, 2025.   Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/-Oqql6RErHc   Directed By: MJ Bassett  Written By: Tasha Huo  Cast: Matilda Lutz, Martyn Ford, Robert Sheehan, Wallis Day, Michael Bisping, Philip Winchester, Trevor Eve, Luca Pasqualino, Rhona Mitra, Sofia Weldon

Transcript

00:00We're alive, we're alive!

00:03Hello everybody, my name is AJ Fryer.

00:05This is my first interview with Elements of Madness,

00:09and it is for the press day of Red Sonja.

00:13And we interviewed MJ Bassett, the director of the film,

00:18and the star Matilda Lutz for the film as well

00:22in this one-on-two interview, if you will.

00:26They both joined me.

00:27And in the intro, we talk about how important it is

00:32to get the character of Red Sonja right

00:35with her character history and the story already laid out

00:39in the comics and the previous movie.

00:42And we just take it from there.

00:44So, hope you all enjoy the interview.

00:50And various directors have been attached, come and gone,

00:55and every version I went back and said, give it to me, can I do it?

00:58And they would give it to somebody else.

00:59And then finally, I think they just ran out of people to go to.

01:03And I was in the meeting with the studio,

01:05and they said we're going to go look for another director.

01:07I just said, give it to me.

01:08I know what to do with her.

01:09I love this character.

01:11I think I know a path to production, how to get her made,

01:14for a price.

01:16Just let me make it.

01:17Let's go find our Sonja.

01:18And that's what we did, and we found Matilda.

01:21So, on the other end, I was not very familiar with Red Sonja.

01:28But when I, before I, you know, I got an email from my agent

01:33saying you should, you know, self-tape for this.

01:36And I read the script, and I absolutely loved it.

01:39I loved the character.

01:40I loved the journey she has in the script.

01:42And so, I did a first self-tape, and then the first self-tape

01:46apparently was picked from other ones.

01:49And I got a Zoom call with MJ, and I, you know,

01:52I just loved her passion for Red Sonja,

01:55and how wonderful of a human being she is,

01:58besides being super talented.

02:01And I got all of that in a first Skype meeting.

02:04So, I was just so happy to take this character on board.

02:08And, you know, like, then, obviously, all of the things I got to do

02:13between the horseback riding and sword fighting, climbing, archery.

02:20I mean, I had to endure a very crazy diet at the beginning

02:25to build up muscles.

02:27That was the hardest thing to do.

02:30And then all of the rest was fun.

02:33You know, it was challenging,

02:34because we had long shoot nights and cold and rain and fire and, you know,

02:43fightings.

02:44And MJ wanted the whole fighting choreographies to be, you know,

02:49like, long takes, not just, like, you know, cutting.

02:52But it was every day, I was just so grateful to be on set

02:56and be playing such a badass character.

02:58And MJ, this is not your first time in the fantasy universe,

03:03like you said, with Solomon Cain.

03:04What draws you to this universe of sword and sorcery as a filmmaker?

03:11Well, it's world building.

03:12It's the opportunity to sort of step outside our natural realms.

03:17You know, I grew up on this stuff.

03:18I grew up reading fantasy books when I was a teenager.

03:22It's a genre I adore.

03:25I mean, I like sci-fi.

03:26I like all genre, I like horror and sci-fi and thrillers,

03:28but fantasy has something special.

03:29You know, I can put a cyclops in a movie, in a fantasy movie.

03:33I can do sword fighting.

03:35I can have necromancy.

03:36I can do whatever I want.

03:37But at the same time, at the heart of it,

03:39you can tell these incredibly human stories.

03:42And that's ultimately what drew me to Sonya, I think.

03:45And Solomon Cain is the same.

03:47Solomon Cain is a journey of redemption and darkness.

03:52With Sonya, it's about search for family

03:54and search for a place in the world and a purpose.

03:56And I find that really, really compelling from a character point of view.

04:01So with fantasy, you can tell human stories in a kind of unreal space.

04:07And it allows you to push the boundaries a little bit.

04:10Whereas if you're doing a straight-on drama,

04:11then you have to behave according to the laws of our world.

04:14And I don't want to behave according to the laws of our world.

04:16I want to behave according to the laws of my world.

04:18And the production design and the production sets and the set pieces were amazing, too.

04:25So, Matilda, this question is for you.

04:27As an actor, what do you get most out of these set designs that you see on set for Red Sonya?

04:34That is just absolutely mind-blowing.

04:36And how gratifying is that as an actress as well?

04:39I mean, all of it.

04:42Honestly, like, this experience, whether the film goes well or not,

04:47it was such an incredible experience for me.

04:49From the crew and the cast and MJ and, you know, the design.

04:55Like, I remember the first time I got to the arena, it was just mind-blowing.

05:01The fact that we could actually do that in a place where you had a set design

05:06and not just, like, a blue screen was amazing.

05:10It was so much fun.

05:11And obviously, the Cyclops, we couldn't have a real Cyclops.

05:14But there was MJ running around with a stick and a tennis ball on top,

05:20pretending to be a Cyclops.

05:23But, you know, the set designing that we had around us was absolutely amazing.

05:29So, yeah, I feel blessed that I got to be part of this project.

05:34Yeah, I mean, the thing of it is that many, many movies are made in a volume

05:39or in a blue screen or something.

05:41One of the things that I like to do as a filmmaker,

05:42and I think it really helps the actors, is to try and make a physical space.

05:47You know, even though we couldn't build a full stadium,

05:50there was enough stadium to be real.

05:52You know, we built a forest and we set fire to a forest.

05:54There is no CG in the forest fire sequence at all.

05:59It's real fire.

06:00It's real rain.

06:01We built a forest.

06:02We laid gas pipes through this whole forest, set them alight,

06:06started thousands of litres of rain falling,

06:09and sent Matilda into the forest to fight everybody.

06:13And it was real.

06:14And I think it makes so much difference to just the emotional resonance

06:17and the presence of every actor to be able to do that.

06:20So one of the advantages of having not so much money

06:24is you do have to be very practical about it.

06:26It's got to be in camera because it isn't happening afterwards.

06:29And this question is for both of you.

06:32This film is being released in theatres also,

06:35and that's how people want to consume movies still, right?

06:38To this day, we see box office kind of like a resurgence.

06:42And as a filmmaker and an actor,

06:44you want to see your film on the biggest screen possible.

06:47So how does it feel for you to,

06:49knowing that this film is going to be in theatres as well?

06:52Well, I mean, it's amazing as a filmmaker.

06:54You know, you want people to experience it the way you intend it,

06:57you know, the way you shoot it,

06:58the way we spend hours agonizing over sound design

07:01and every little tweak of the image.

07:03You know, it's a limited release for a movie.

07:06It's a small budget picture.

07:07It can't compete with the giant things.

07:09But the very fact that we're going to see

07:10the inside of theatres in America

07:11and in many other countries around the world

07:14is incredibly gratifying.

07:15You know, this is the journey we make.

07:17But ultimately, I want as many eyeballs as possible

07:20on this movie and this piece of storytelling

07:23and all the work that so many people put into it.

07:26I'm okay with you watching it at home.

07:27If you've got a big screen and a good sound system,

07:30it will play beautifully.

07:31So I just want people to experience the movie

07:34in the best way possible.

07:35Well, theatrically is the way to go.

07:37But however you consume your media,

07:39as they say these days, is fine by me.

07:41Just not on a phone, however.

07:45Yeah, I mean, I got to go to one of the screenings

07:50they did here prior to the release

07:52and just being inside a theatre with the audience

07:56and feeling the emotion and the energy

07:59and the comments as well that you hear from the audience

08:03is just, that's why I make movies.

08:07Like, that's why I'm an actor.

08:08And so I love the fact that, you know,

08:12Red Sonja can be in theatres.

08:13And again, like, I watch a lot of films at home.

08:19So however you want to watch it, watch it.

08:22It's great.

08:24Well, thank you two so much for joining me today.

08:26It's been fun.

08:27And congratulations on Red Sonja.

08:29Thank you, AJ.

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