A Shakespeare adaptation just in time for awards season? Yeah, that sounds about right. But what you might be surprised to see from The King is that it’s from Australian filmmaker David Michod, best known for Animal Kingdom and The Rover, and co-writer/star Joel Edgerton who he worked with on both films. Together, they’re telling a star-studded take on King Henry V that looks to be one of Netflix’s major releases after it premieres in Venice.
Portraying Hal, and sporting the Prince Valiant haircut, is Oscar-nominated actor Timothee Chalamet who is quickly becoming a staple of this time of year. He’s joined by Robert Pattinson, rising star Thomasin McKenzie, Sean Harris, Lily-Rose Depp, Ben Mendelsohn, and Edgerton himself, naturally.
SYNOPSIS: Hal (Timothée Chalamet), wayward prince and reluctant heir to the English throne, has turned his back on royal life and is living among the people. But when his tyrannical father dies, Hal is crowned King Henry V and is forced to embrace the life he had previously tried to escape. Now the young king must navigate the palace politics, chaos and war his father left behind, and the emotional strings of his past life — including his relationship with his closest friend and mentor, the aging alcoholic knight, John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton). Directed by David Michôd and co-written by Michôd and Edgerton, THE KING co-stars Sean Harris, Ben Mendelsohn, Robert Pattinson, and Lily-Rose Depp.
The King will have its world premiere in Venice before Netflix releases it later this fall.
