After David Lowery’s latest film A Ghost Story (2017) premiered and achieved a good amount of awards during its extensive film festival run, everybody stated that the director had already made the jump to the A-class league and that any new movie he was releasing was a must-see. Well, 4 years after we already have that new movie insight. It is called The Green Knight (2021) and it is a fantasy adventure based on the Arthurian legend telling the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur‘s headstrong nephew, who embarks on a quest to confront the eponymous Knight, a gigantic tree-like creature.
Based on the late 14th-century Middle English chivalric romance by an unknown author, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, it is considered one of the best known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of folk motifs, the beheading game and the exchange of winnings. It describes how Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, accepts a challenge from a mysterious “Green Knight” who dares any knight to strike him with his ax if he will make a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain accepts and beheads him with his blow, at which the Green Knight stands up, picks up his head, and reminds Gawain of the appointed time. In his struggles to keep his bargain, Gawain demonstrates chivalry and loyalty until his honor is called into question by a test involving the lord and the lady of the castle where he is a guest.
Besides producing, editing, and directing the film, David Lowery is also the writer for the screenplay adaptation. Dev Patel, known for Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and Chappie (2015), plays the title role. With him, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan, and Erin Kellyman also star.
The Green Knight (2021) was scheduled to have its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 16, 2020, followed by a theatrical release on May 29, 2020, by A24. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was canceled and the film was pulled from the schedule. Finally, it has been set for a release on July 30, 2021, in the USA, Germany, and Canada, and the rest of the territories along August. Here you can watch its final trailer.
