THE GREEN KNIGHT
Dev Patel Fights For His Honor + Alicia Vikander
Don’t provoke the Green Knight if you’re not truly ready to face him. But that’s precisely what Dev Patel’s character, Sir Gawain, does when this mysterious creature shows up to a meeting at the Round Table.
At the beginning of the trailer for The Green Knight, Gawain’s uncle, King Arthur, asks his Round Table Knights for a tale. It is ironic because the stories of King Arthur are some of the most famous in the world.
We’ve all heard of the legend of King Arthur. The first poems, dating back to the 14th century, have been passed down for ages, translated from medieval manuscripts to novels and during modern times to the silver screen. They’re like the medieval MCU. We know the king led his army against human and supernatural forces with help from the wizard Merlin and his Knights of the Round Table. We also know of Lancelot and Arthur’s queen, Guinevere. But has anyone heard of Sir Gawain?
David Lowery’s The Green Knight, based on the 14th-century Arthurian poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, will follow Gawain’s journey to conquer the Green Knight, a giant green-skinned creature who tests men. When the Green Knight comes to Camelot, he asks King Arthur to indulge him and let one of his Knights land a blow against him. Gawain is the first to jump into the arena and cuts the monster’s head off. The Green Knight then promises to return the following year. According to the poem, the creature allowed for a blow if he was given a blow in return.
When Arthur, played by Sean Harris, tells him he must seek the Green Knight out because the game is not finished, Gawain knows what he has to do. His mission is to confront the giant once more to prove himself to his family and kingdom, encountering ghosts, giants, thieves, and eerie talking foxes, who try to stop his journey along the way. If the film follows the poem faithfully, we might find out that the Green Knight isn’t what we think.
The Green Knight was supposed to be released in 2020, but because of the pandemic, it now has a July premiere date, making it one of the most anticipated indie films of 2021. In the year between the original release date and now, we will discover how one year can change us all, so we’ll relate to Gawain’s journey in the year between his encounters with the monster.
We’re in safe hands with Lowery. It isn’t the first time he’s reimagined a classic story, and he received rave reviews for his version of Disney’s Pete’s Dragon. He’s also set to helm the upcoming Peter Pan & Wendy. Along with Patel and Harris, Lowery enlisted actors Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan, and Ralph Ineson. The Green Knight won’t be like other retellings of classic tales. Gawain’s journey will be something new, even if it’s based on an ancient story.
