Zack Snyder is looking to bring the legend of King Arthur back to the big screen in a “faithful retelling” of the classic medieval story. Next month, fans of the filmmaker will see the release of Snyder’s next big project when Zack Snyder’s Justice League finally premieres on HBO Max. Later this year, Netflix will also host Snyder’s next movie when Army of the Dead makes its debut on the streaming service.
As for what might be coming next for Zack Snyder after these respective superhero and zombie projects, it appears Snyder has his sights set on a medieval setting. In a video interview for the YouTube channel I Minutemen, Snyder offered this tease on a potential new movie about the legend of King Arthur.
“I’m working on something, but, we’ll see. I’ve been thinking about some kind of retelling, like a real sort of faithful retelling of that Arthurian mythological concept. We’ll see. Maybe that will come at some point.”
The legend of King Arthur has served as one of the most popular stories of all time with numerous adaptations dating back centuries. He has typically been described as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire. Many other elements from the Arthurian mythology have frequently been used in the tale’s numerous iterations, such as the magician Merlin and the sword Excalibur.
We’ve seen a variety of movies, TV shows, and other mediums adapt the legend of King Arthur over the years. One of the more well-known Arthurian-based movies, 1981’s Excalibur, will celebrate its 40th anniversary in April. As a fan of the movie, Snyder even referenced Excalibur in his movie Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. That movie reveals that in the DCEU, Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered after catching a viewing of Excalibur.
The late Sean Connery also played King Arthur in Jerry Zucker’s 1995 movie First Knight, which also starred Richard Gere as Sir Lancelot and Julia Ormond as Guinevere. In more recent years, Charlie Hunnam played a new iteration of the famous character in the 2017 movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Meant to launch a franchise consisting of multiple installments, the movie underperformed at the box office, turning Hunnam’s performance into a one-and-done deal.
There have also been many TV shows inspired by the mythology. That includes the British series Merlin, which aired between 2008 and 2012 and followed a young Merlin and Arthur in the years leading up to the two fulfilling their destiny. The short-lived Starz series Camelot also served as an origin story of sorts by following a young Arthur when he is first crowned as king. Last year, Netflix also debuted the series Cursed, based on the illustrated novel of the same name that re-imagines the Arthurian legend.
Time will tell if Snyder’s idea of an Arthurian movie ever comes to fruition. For other works from the filmmaker, you can catch Zack Snyder’s Justice League when it begins streaming on HBO Max starting on March 18th. You can also expect Army of the Dead arrive on Netflix sometime this year. This news comes to us from Minutemen on YouTube.