King Arthur and his famed sword, Excalibur are timeless legends. There has been no shortage of movie adaptations of these stories. Animated features like Disney’s classic The Sword in the Stone have taken a stab at the mythology, and soon Michael Bay may also bring elements of it into Transformers: The Last Knight. However, Warner Bros. is hoping they have the definitive take with King Arthur: Legend of the Sword , which releases later this year.

The Guy Ritchie-directed feature was initially scheduled to hit cinemas last year, but Warner Brothers since reconfigured the film’s timeframe. The marketing began last July at San Diego Comic-Con with the release of the first trailer, but mixed receptions could have resulted in WB losing some faith in the project. The film has since moved into the summer season and has now released a new trailer and poster.

The new trailer focuses heavily on the action and scale that Ritchie has brought to the screen. This is very much an origin story for Arthur, with Charlie Hunnam filling his shoes and Jude Law playing the villainous king Vortigern, but the majority of the trailer highlights the film’s large battle scenes and lavish production value. ComingSoon meanwhile also debuted the following poster for the film:

Hopefully, this is the beginning of a marketing campaign that will turn people’s perceptions of this film around. Even if the first trailer did not land incredibly well with audiences, this new condensed trailer plays more to the action film that it will likely be. The film has some noteworthy star power. Outside of Ritchie, Law, and Hunnam, people like Eric Bana and Djimon Hounsou typically add another layer to the films they are involved in.

That said, with WB moving the film into the summer season it now has stiffer competition than ever. While it is certainly different than its surrounding releases, that does not make the competition any less threatening. It now has to deal with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 coming out the week before, followed by Alien: Covenant coming in the week after. King Arthur will need a strong opening weekend against the roll over from Guardians 2 to make a good portion of its money. If WB continues a strong marketing campaign moving forward, then that chance becomes even more likely.

Source: WB and ComingSoon

  • King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Release Date: 2017-05-12