Now titled Knights of the Round Table, the project is expected to be the first of six films in a series that follows Arthur Pendragon’s path to becoming the legendary King Arthur. The series is based on Thomas Mallory’s 1485 compilation of French and English stories about iconic character, Le Morte d’Arthur. Sons of Anarchy and Pacific Rim star Charlie Hunnam was cast as Arthur in the saga in 2014.
With production on Knights of the Round Table beginning this week, Ritchie — who is best known for films like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and Snatch — posted (to Twitter) the first photo from the U.K. set of the fantasy epic, featuring himself and Hunnam in the foreground as preparation gets underway for his Arthurian saga.
First day on KORT. pic.twitter.com/JPv8esPDnu
— Guy Ritchie (@realguyritchie) March 10, 2015
“First day on KORT,” wrote Ritchie in the caption for the photo.
Shortly after changing the title from King Arthur to Knights of the Round Table, and posting the first photo, the studio also released the first official synopsis of the film:
The bold new story introduces a streetwise young Arthur who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future. Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur is forced to make some hard choices. Throwing in with the Resistance and a mysterious young woman named Guinevere, he must learn to master the sword, face down his demons and unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern, who stole his crown and murdered his parents, and become King.
Along with Hunnam as Arthur, the film also stars Astrid Berges-Frisbey (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) as Guinevere, and Eric Bana (Munich) as Uther Pendragon. Jude Law and Djimon Honsou (Gladiator) reportedly finalizing featured roles in the film.
Knights of the Round Table is currently scheduled to hit theaters July 22, 2016.
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