'Transparent' Creator Jill Soloway Replacing Bryan Singer On Shelved Film 'Red Sonja'

Lydia O'Connor

Director Jill Soloway, the person behind Amazon’s hit show “Transparent,” is taking on the director role for the film “Red Sonja,” which studio executives indefinitely shelved earlier this year after multiple rape and sexual misconduct accusations stacked up against its original director, Bryan Singer.

Deadline was the first to report the news on Friday, and multiple other Hollywood outlets later confirmed it.

“I can’t wait to bring Red Sonja’s epic world to life,” Soloway, who prefers “they/them” pronouns, told Deadline of the comic book character that originated in the 1970s. “Exploring this powerful mythology and evolving what it means to be a heroine is an artistic dream come true.”

Millenium Films, the studio behind the movie, did not immediately return HuffPost’s request for comment.

Jill Soloway has been widely praised in the industry for “Transparent.” (Photo: The Wrap)
Jill Soloway has been widely praised in the industry for “Transparent.” (Photo: The Wrap)

“Red Sonja” has been in development for more than a decade, but progress on the film halted in February after The Atlantic published a bombshell story describing Singer’s history of alleged sexual assault against minors. The report includes detailed accounts from multiple men who say Singer raped them.

Singer denied the accusations and shot down the story as “a homophobic smear piece” intended to cast a negative light on his film “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a major box-office hit and 2019 Oscar contender.

Last week, Singer agreed to pay $150,000 to settle one of those rape accusations.

Millennium Films’ CEO Avi Lerner originally stood by Singer, calling the Atlantic story “agenda driven fake news” in a statement. He later said he released that publicist-written statement without reading it first, and now feels it “came out the wrong way.”

Hiring Soloway, who’s been widely praised in the industry for their work on “Transparent,” a groundbreaking show about transgender characters, could be good damage control for the studio. The gender-nonconforming director also received praise for swiftly firing the show’s star, Jeffrey Tambor, last year after two set employees came forward with misconduct accusations against him.

Soloway is also known for producing the HBO hit “Six Feet Under” and directing the 2013 film “Afternoon Delight.”

Related Coverage

Bryan Singer Will Keep 'Red Sonja' Directing Gig Despite Allegations

Bryan Singer's New Movie Shelved After Sexual Assault Allegations

'Bohemian Rhapsody' Director Bryan Singer Agrees To Pay $150,000 To Settle Rape Claim

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.