‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ Debuts Official Trailer Featuring First-Look at Charlie Hunnam as Rugged Version of Arthur in Guy Ritchie’s Dark Retelling

‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ recently debuted its official trailer featuring the first look at Charlie Hunnam as the rugged version of King Arthur. Guy Ritchie’s new film is a darker retelling of the classic Arthurian legend.

According to The Verge, the first official trailer of Guy Ritchie’s upcoming epic fantasy film debuted during the Warner Bros.’ panel at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 23. The action-packed trailer featured the first look at Charlie Hunnam as the titular protagonist. Hunnam’s depiction of Arthur differs from the version often portrayed in retellings of the classic ‘Excalibur’ story.

Hunnam is seen as a rugged, street-wise man who runs the back passages of violent Londonium with his crew. He gets into fights and is generally rough on all sides. However, he realizes his royal lineage after he manages to pull out the legendary sword in the stone. He then discovers that his birthright was stolen from him by the villainous Vortigern and he goes on to unite the people to take back his crown as the rightful king.

According to Forbes, the film was initially slated to premiere on July 22, 2016 but was moved to a new schedule for February 17, 2017 before finally landing the March 24 slot. The new release date will put the film in competition with Lionsgate’s ‘Power Rangers’ big-screen reboot. It was also previously announced that the film is the first in a planned six-part installment.

The visuals presented in the trailer are indicative of Ritchie’s storytelling and cinematic style. The 47-year old English filmmaker is best known for his directorial debut ‘Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels’, which was released back in 1999. The crime-comedy was considered a box office success after grossing $28.36 million worldwide against a production budget of $1.35 million, according to The Numbers.

Ritchie went on to work on other full-feature films including 2000’s ‘Snatch’, 2005’s ‘Revolver’, 2008’s ‘RocknRolla’, as well as 2009’s ‘ Sherlock Holmes’ and its 2011 sequel ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows’. He also wrote, directed and produced the critically-acclaimed action-comedy and spy film ‘The Man from U.N.C.L.E.’ that starred Henry Cavill, Alicia Vikander, and Hugh Grant.

‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ is an upcoming adventure-drama and fantasy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie. It is co-written by Lionel Wigram and Joby Harold. It is produced by Safehouse Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, Weed Road Pictures, and Warner Bros.

The film stars Hunnam as King Arthur, Jude Law as Vortigern, Djimon Hounsou as Sir Bedivere, Eric Bana as Uther Pendragon, Astrid Berges-Fridbey as Guinevere,  Aidan Gillen as Goosefat Bill Wilson, and Annabelle Wallis as Maid Maggie.