Red Sonja is a character from the Conan The Barbarian universe. She was inspired by a character created by Robert E. Howard. However, Barry Windsor-Smith and Roy Thomas fleshed out the character for Marvel Comics. She had once appeared on the big screen but hadn’t been seen since.
Red Sonja (Matilda Lutz) makes a return to the big and little screen in the 2025 film Red Sonja. It had a very limited release in theaters, followed by a wide home/streaming release. Initially, this film was set to be a spin-off of the Jason Momoa Conan The Barbarian film with no relation to the 1985 Red Sonja film.
What does that mean for viewers? We get to see Red Sonja without a Conan figure. The film is set in a fantasy land during the Hyborian Age. It’s a time of feast, famine, and wicked rulers.
Sonja had been ripped away from her people as a child. She’s raised herself in the dangerous Hyrkanian Forest. It’s a place few dare to tread. Even fewer return from the woods.
As Sonja seeks out her lost people, she is drawn into a battle she had not expected.
Let’s look at Red Sonja’s story and the leadership lessons hidden within.
Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Red Sonja
1. Bad leadership can destroy peace:
Sonja’s people had lived in peace until an evil king swept through the country. He was ruthless, taking women and children as his own. Wiping out the men and leaving children fatherless.
It was a beautiful time, destroyed by bad leadership.
We see great organizations wiped out by bad leadership. They bring in their bravado, angst, and mismanagement styles. They wreak havoc.
Great companies can easily be destroyed when we let bad leadership in.
2. Red Sonja:
Please make today the day I find my people.
Red Sonja had been a part of the village that was ripped apart when the evil king invaded. She had wandered the Hyrkanian Forest for years, seeking out her people. Always coming up short.
Red Sonja stopped to pray at the statue of Asherah. She prayed that she would be able to find her people. To bring them back together.
Do you know who your people are? Have you found your tribe? Have you sought to bring them together?
Great leaders long for their people. They know there are people out there with whom they will connect. They just need to find them.
Seek out your people.
3. Bad leaders destroy beautiful things:
Red Sonja is with her horse, Vihur. She senses people coming, evil people. And they were.
The people were poachers. They rampaged through the forest, killing the beautiful creatures and taking their horns.
They destroyed beautiful things.
This plays to the first lesson. Bad leaders destroy beautiful things. Great organizations are often brought down by poor leadership.
Beware of bringing a bad leader onto the team, even if they appear to be rainmakers. Bad leaders will destroy what you and others have worked hard to build.
4. Petra (Rhona Mitra):
I prefer an uncut gem rather than a polished jewel with no personality.
Osin The Untouched (Luca Pasqualino) sits next to Petra at a table in a dungeon holding the Damnati people. They were captives being held for sport by the new Emperor Draygan (Robert Sheehan). He would have these people fight mythical creatures or, worse, one another.
Osin asks Petra what she sees in Hawk (Michael Bisping). Her answer is poignant and appropriate. Hawk may not be polished. He may not be couth. But he has personality.
Leaders without personality are often dull and ineffective. Bring your personality to your work.
People will respond better to you when they can see you as a person. As one of them. The more personality you bring, the better.
5. The story isn’t about you:
Draygan had recovered a book containing a prophecy. He had read it multiple times. However, there was a missing half to the book.
The more Draygan read the prophecy, the more he saw himself in it. The more the story became about him.
However, the prophecy wasn’t about him.
We can get caught up in the organization’s story. We can see ourselves as the hero.
Guess what?
The story isn’t about you. You play but a bit part in it. The story is about the whole, the organization.
6. Don’t become the abuser:
Draygan and his lover, Annisia (Wallis Day), had both been slaves. They were abused, treated poorly, and treated unfairly.
Draygan was able to overcome his abuser. He rose up and overtook the throne.
In doing so, he became an abuser. When he chose Anisia to serve beside him, she became an abuser.
That’s not what we want. We should desire to be anything but abusive.
Yet, that’s the story that often plays out. We have a bad leader as an example. We follow that leader. And then we become an abusive leader.
You don’t have to do this, though. You can rise above and become a leader worth following.
7. Red Sonja:
I survived but I was alone…
Red Sonja was talking to Daix (Ben Radcliffe), another survivor. She shared how she was one of the orphans from Hyrkania.
She had been left to the forest. She had watched as others died. Soon, she was alone.
She survived but was alone. She didn’t like this feeling.
Leaders often survive but are alone. They find themselves rising through the ranks of an organization, soon they have no one because of their position.
We can be better leaders than that. We don’t have to be lonely leaders. We can have friends and cohorts that we interact with.
Make sure you’re not trying to lead one. It’s lonely if you do.
8. Find the real enemy:
The Damnati were forced to fight for sport and the entertainment of Emperor Draygan. In one scene, they were brought to the arena and had to face off against a menacing cyclops.
Red Sonja noticed something odd about the Cyclops. There was a device connected to its neck that allowed Draygan to control him.
Seeing this, Red Sonja rushed toward the creature. She climbed on its back. Getting to the control device, she pried it off of him. Then, she let him know that they were not the real enemy. Emperor Draygan was.
We can be focused on the wrong thing. We can see something as an enemy or a challenge. Yet, they’re not the true enemy.
We have to figure out who the real enemy, the real competition, is. When we do, we can focus on doing what needs to be done to overcome them.
9. We may have to return to dark and dangerous places:
Red Sonja and her band of Damnati returned to the capital. This is the location where the gladiator games took place. The band of warriors had unfinished business there.
They took out many of Draygan’s men. The capital was devastated.
Emperor Draygan was shocked upon his return. He met with Commander Artran (Simon Feek). Artran informed Draygan that the Red Devil had returned and laid waste to their capital.
Red Sonja and the Damnati had faced dark times at the capital. Yet, they returned for unfinished business.
Leadership isn’t sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, leading others can be dark, dangerous, and frustrating.
It’s easy to want to run from those times. Those situations.
Real leadership doesn’t run from that. Instead, they return to the dark places they once visited. Why? To make them better.
Return to the dark places. Bring light to them.
10. Red Sonja:
This world needs leadership. Moral and just.
Red Sonja must leave. She has someone she needs to seek out (I believe it was alluding to Conan). In her stead, she gives Osin a charge.
Red Sonja tells Osin that the world needs leadership. Moral and just leadership. He is to be the one to lead the people.
I’m here to tell you our world needs leadership. Moral and just leadership. Leadership that isn’t about self but about the whole.
Lead morally and justly. Treat your people fairly. Pay them well. Get in the dirt with them. Be there for them.
Be a moral and just leader.
