First Look At Charlie Hunnam And Jude Law In ‘King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword’

Guy Ritchie finally shared the first stills from his upcoming film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

The images reveal Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) as the titular hero in the film while another shows Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) as Vortigern, the movie’s main villain.

Entertainment Weekly first released the two photos. Although the premiere date for the film is still a long way off, the images provide fans a good insight into what they can expect to see in the reboot.

According to Collider, Ritchie has grand plans to retell the story with a slightly different twist. In this version, Vortigern kills Arthur’s dad (Eric Bana) and brother. The deaths inspire Arthur to action and rise against Vortigern’s reign.

Joey Harold created the original screenplay for the movie, which is expected to span at least three different films. Ritchie picked up the project and collaborated with Lionel Wigram to complete the writing.

Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Aidan Gillen, and Djimon Hounsou star alongside Hunnam and Law in the film.

Details concerning the movie are unknown, but fans can expect Ritchie to put his own twist on the old legend. This includes Ritchie’s plan to add magic and fantasy elements.

At the same time, Hunnam’s portrayal of Arthur is also going to be drastically different than anything before. In fact, Hunnam’s version is a younger, dirtier, and more rugged characterized of the hero than in films past.

Although Charlie Hunnam will probably do the whole sword-from-the-stone bit, his Arthur is definitely more street-wise this time around.

“He’s a bit rough around the edges, but he’s basically a survivor,” Hunnam shared. “There’s definitely a harder edge than people would imagine.”

To complicate matters, Vortigern is Arthur’s uncle and has more than just his reputation to ward off usurpers, including his nephew.

Fortunately, Arthur has a bit of magic to help him overthrown Vortigern, take the throne, and avenge the death of his family.

Considering the magical elements in the movie, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is sort of a cross between fantasy and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.

Of course, Ritchie has yet to reveal if Hunnam and Law will bust out the bare-knuckle boxing in the movie, though, knowing Ritchie, it’s highly likely.

Meanwhile, the new images are welcome news for a movie that has been retitled and delayed a number of times. According to Comic Book News, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword will be competing against the new Power Rangers movie from Lionsgate.

Ritchie’s film should do well against the competition, especially since his last project, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., was well received by critics.

Furthermore, Ritchie’s story and style of filmmaking should generate enough excitement over the reboot of the King Arthur franchise, not to mention the crossover with the fantasy genre.

Here’s the official description of the movie.

“The young Arthur runs the back passages of Londonium with his crew, not knowing his royal lineage until he grabs Excalibur. Instantly confronted by the sword’s influence, Arthur is forced to make up his mind. Joining the rebellion and an enigmatic young woman named Guinevere, he must learn to address her and eventually understand her magic weapon, deal with his demons and unite the people to defeat the dictator Vortigern, the man who murdered his parents and stole his crown to become king.”

With the movie still another year from opening in theaters, fans can expect more promo materials to be released in the near future.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is scheduled to hit theaters on March 24, 2017.

Tell us! Are you excited to see Charlie Hunnam and Jude Law in King Arthur? Let us know in the comments below.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]