Guy Ritchie appears to have found his King Arthur. Deadline reports that Pacific Rim and “Sons of Anarchy” star Charlie Hunnam is final negotiations for the leading role in the upcoming project, which hopes to launch a multi-film franchise. Variety, meanwhile, reports that Godzilla star Elizabeth Olsen is in talks for the female lead.
Hunnam would join his Pacific Rim co-star Idris Elba, who was recently cast as a Merlin-like figure who trains and mentors Arthur.
Joby Harold has drafted the script for the first film and will produce alongside Akiva Goldsman, Tory Tunnell and Lionel Wigram. An earlier iteration of the project was to feature a screenplay by John Hodge (Trainspotting) and was to be based directly on Thomas Mallory’s 15th century work “Le Morte d’Arthur” (which itself is divided into eight different books). As Mallory’s compilation of tales is pretty much the definitive source material for Arthurian legend, it’s a good bet that Harold’s screenplay is similarly influenced.
King Arthur is set for release on July 22, 2016.
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