Guy Ritchie's King Arthur Delayed until 2017
Guy Ritchie’s Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur has beat a bold retreat back to 2017 after its release date was pushed back to avoid battling against Star Trek: Beyond and Ice Age: Collision Course.
The new date of 17th February 2017 plants it squarely in Presidents Day weekend, with Warner Bros looking to capitalise on the school holiday. The studio seems to have taken notice of Kingsman: The Secret Services success in the same month and, while Ritchie has had some success in the winter months with Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur still faces some tough competition from Bad Boys 3 and Maze Runner finale The Death Cure, so it's still not entirely plain sailing.
Charlie Hunnam stars in Ritchie's film as the titular head of the Round Table, with Astrid Bergès-Frisbey his Guinevere. Eric Bana is Arthur’s father, Uther Pendragon, while Jude Law is the villainous Vortigern and Djimon Hounsou is Sir Bedivere, one of Uther’s old comrades who takes Arthur under his wing.
The script by Joby Harold finds a young Arthur as a streetwise type running the back alleys of Londonium, unaware of his royal destiny. Until, that is, he somehow grasps hold of the sword Excalibur, and finds himself challenged by its power. He joins forces with the resistance, meets Guinevere and has to learn to master the sword while battling his demons as well as the tyrannical Vortigern.
If the film is successful, Harold and Ritchie have plans for a six-film franchise spun from the stories of Arthur and co.