King Arthur Is (Almost) Back!

Charlie Hunnam as the latest King Arthur
Photo by MARC HOM for EW

I've been a big, big fan of Arthurian legends ever since I inadvertently got my hands on Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, which also happened to be the book that propelled me into the world(s) of fantasy fiction.

In any case, I'm always really excited whenever I get to see more fiction or other works of art related to the noble king and his dashing knights, such as Barjavel's L'Enchanteur (another amazing take on the legends, for anyone who can read in French).

There was, for instance, this great French/Canadian musical called Graal with great songs (I particularly appreciate their Celtic flair) and vocal artists. It's really too bad I never got to see the full-on spectacle...

Is it therefore any surprise that, after a long while, I just couldn't resist and had to add my own take to a never-ending list of Arthurian tales? But unlike the upcoming movie, the Morgana Trilogy's Blood of the Fey and Rise of the Fey (the third and final volume isn't quite out the gate yet) are set in modern times (although there is this whole parallel universe going on with Avalon and the world beneath the lake). It's also thanks to a fan that I got to be introduced to the BBC's Merlin TV series as well, which ended a few years back (aaack, I can't believe it's already been 2.5 years!!).

Anyway, all that to say that legends of the Knights of the Round Table, and of King Arthur in particular, never cease to be a fount for inspiration. And that brings me to the whole point of this article: Guy Ritchie's own take of a 5th century Arthur is coming to a cinema near you in 2016 with none other than The Sons of Anarchy's engaging Charlie Hunnam (pics courtesy of EW).

Although I must admit I wasn't that fond of Ritchie's version of Sherlock, and that despite the always-fun-to-watch Robert Downey Jr. playing the eponymous character (it just didn't feel quite as true to the original character as, say, BBC's Sherlock), I'm still very much itching to go check out Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur. Hopefully it'll be great (unlike some previous movies) so that the WB will get to release even more movies based on the court's other famous players (Lancelot, of course, but also Galahad, and Guinevere, for instance)! 

A little about the movie's been revealed, namely that this time around Arthur isn't going to be "bland and nice" anymore, but a street-smart, rough-around-the-edges kind of guy (probably one of the side effects of being raised by a bunch of prostitutes, as per this version). But his life changes when he gets his hands on the mythical sword Excalibur, and he soon thereafter finds himself joining the Resistance (where he meets Guinevere--guess she's getting a fun makeover too--and Bedivere, among others) to defeat the evil Vortigern.

Now, considering the movie's just finished wrapping up, I'm still not quite sure when in 2016 it will come out, but, as I've already stated, I'm most definitely looking forward to it! And, if everything goes well, perhaps the third installment in my trilogy, Curse of the Fey, will be out as well by then, thereby bringing the series to a close :)

And here's a song from the musical Graal sung by Belgian Pablo Villafranca who incarnates King Arthur - Au-delà du silence:

Additional Articles/Resources:

EW's Charlie Hunnam's King Arthur won't be a 'good guy' from the beginning, by Kevin P. Sullivan and 'King Arthur' first look: See Charlie Hunnam (and Excalibur!) on the set of Guy Ritchie's medieval epic for even more epic pics!

Vanity Fair's Here's Charlie Hunnam as Guy Ritchie's Street-Wise King Arthur, by Joanna Robinson

WB's Director Guy Ritchie's New King Arthur Movie Now in Production news alert (with additional cast and other movie info)