I’ve been anticipating this movie for over a year now! I first blogged about The Green Knight in February 2020, but of course it’s delayed because of Covid. Well now the wait is nearly over! From director David Lowery and starring Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, and Joel Edgerton, this medieval fantasy opens ONLY in theaters on July 30!

A24 just released this fascinating and helpful video in anticipation of its release. Narrated by Ralph Ineson (who plays the title role in the movie), it’s a crash course on the 14th century epic poem that inspired the upcoming film. Whether you’re an Arthurian expert or a little green, it’s worth a watch.

Here’s the synopsis again:

An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, THE GREEN KNIGHT tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table.

Check out these new stills from the film:

Per the film’s press notes, this is not the knight of knights of the epic poem. “My Gawain is someone who is not terrible—he’s no wretched scum—but he isn’t the best version of himself he could be,” says Lowery. “I love protagonists who come to realize the ways in which they are flawed.” [Lowery] also wanted the character to resonate with today’s interrogation of modern masculinity. “Issues of masculinity are front and center in modern discourse and it’s caused many of us to look at ourselves under a microscope and ponder where we might have lost our way, overlooked things, or done wrong,” says Lowery.

After considering dozens of male leads, Lowery met with Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield, Slumdog Millionaire), an actor known for his winsome, irrepressible and upbeat characters, typically rife with gangly charm. Lowery’s early drafts of the script featured a protagonist that was on the verge of being irredeemable, and while Patel loved his take on the medieval classic, he wanted a glimmer of redemption in the protagonist, in keeping with his body of work.

“Dev had some really wonderful notes on the script, and I tweaked the story accordingly,” says Lowery. Adds Patel: “Gawain is sort of this spoiled brat, and I told David before I signed on that if we’re going to go on this extraordinary journey with him—amid sparse dialogue and many instances of questionable behavior—there has to be something that makes you root for him through this adversity.”

I’m so thrilled to see Dev as Gawain and it’s definitely not the first time he’s tackled a role normally reserved for Caucasian actors. His casting just makes me even more excited to watch this Arthurian legend adaptation, and the fact that it’s a lesser known Arthurian stories compared to Lancelot and Guinevere, the wizard Merlin, etc. makes it even more fascinating!

Are you looking forward to seeing THE GREEN KNIGHT?

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