Fresh off the critically and commercially well received re-appropriation of SHERLOCK HOLMES, Guy Ritchie is apparently setting his sights on the Templar Knights!
According to Pajiba, Ritchie is the frontrunner to direct one of two EXCALIBUR movies currently circulating at Warner Brothers. You see, back in August Bryan Singer was purported to helm an out and out remake of John Boorman’s 1981 generic crossbreed. Since that film has been languishing mightily in the interim, word is Warner is keen on setting up a separate EXCALIBUR film that travels in a whole new direction. Peep it…
Warren Ellis, who ironically got to try his hand at Marvel’s Excalibur series back in the day, announced last July he had been hashing out a treatment for a new tale of the Knights of the Roundtable. Word is Ritchie and team will work off said treatment, which takes an entirely different look at the subject matter. Here’s an excerpt from the report:
“Ritchie’s possible take is more in the tone of Star Wars, and, as Ellis noted last year, his version “differs from the prior 751 King Arthur movies in many ways, but perhaps most obviously in that it is very specifically about the gathering of the Knights.”
STAR WARS? Ain’t that some shite?!?
Popular belief has it that Ritchie’s version will be on a faster track, as Singer not only has a busier slate of projects to helm, his version of EXCALIBUR doesn’t have a writer attached yet. Ritchie’s version on the other hand, at least has Ellis’ completed treatment ready for adaptation.
It’s a race to the finish!
Synopsis for the 1981 version of EXCALIBUR: As the title would suggest, it follows the travels of the legendary sword Excalibur through Arthurian myth, from the violent, powerful hands of Uther Pendragon, to a long-years’ rest in the stone to being redrawn by Uther’s son Arthur, who uses it to defeat the evil invaders and establish the great court of Camelot and the great Knights of the Round Table. It is there in Arthur’s glory years and in his decline, brought on by the love affair between his wife Guenevere and best friend and best knight Sir Lancelot, the Holy Grail Quest which produces many casualties among the knights, and the arrival of Mordred, the son Arthur had by his evil half-sister, the sorceress Morgana. Through it all, the magician Merlin watches over everything, always ready to throw in a Charm of Making when it’s called for.
Thandie Newton, star of Ritchie’s ROCK N’ ROLLA!
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed