There may not be a more timeless tale than King Arthur and the sword in the stone. Nary a year passes that there isn’t some form of media dedicated to a new take on the legend. Sometimes they’re fantastic. Other times, they’re Legend of the Sword. Now, Joe Cornish (Attack The Block) is ready to take his swing at it, with The Kid Who Would Be King. And we just so happen to have the trailer here, to hopefully delight your day.
At first glance, this is ridiculous. Conjuring up memories of Seventh Son, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice or any number of middling fantasy films from the last few years. Even ones going as far back as the early 90’s.The difference here is that The Kid Who Would Be King appears to be well aware of this. Almost embracing the idea. Part of that is likely the guiding hand of writer and director Cornish. His Attack The Block (if you haven’t seen it, do so now) mixed John Carpenters lighter kitsch with family-friendly fare of kids on an adventure. The latter can easily glimpsed in that trailer.
Here’s the full synopsis, should the footage above not be that clear:
“Old school magic meets the modern world in the epic adventure THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING. Alex (Ashbourne Serkis) thinks he’s just another nobody, until he stumbles upon the mythical Sword in the Stone, Excalibur. Now, he must unite his friends and enemies into a band of knights and, together with the legendary wizard Merlin (Angus Imrie), take on the wicked enchantress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson). With the future at stake, Alex must become the great leader he never dreamed he could be.”
Again, ridiculous. Spying the trailer (as well as iMDb), Patrick Stewart himself will be playing the older version of Merlin that helps Alex and his pals. If there’s one piece here that gives slight pause, it’s the CGI. In some shots it looks great, others just ok. Depending on how innocuously fun the proceedings are, that may be easy to forgive. Yet The Kid Who Would Be King will probably be overflowing with charm, putting it in the win column
What do you all think? Does this look like it could be a laborious watch? Are you game for another tweaking to the Arthurian legend? Will you see just about anything that Patrick Stewart pops up in? Let us know in ye ole comment section. In the meantime, try not to smirk, or smile too wide, at the poster for the film below and gather your closest knights, when The Kid Who Would Be King opens next year, on March 1st.
