Director Zack Snyder is currently working on a King Arthur movie, now revealing it's set during the Gold Rush era. Snyder has had a busy 2021 so far. Zack Snyder's Justice League, his long-awaited director's cut of the 2017 DC Extended Universe film, finally released in March. Snyder's newest film, Army of the Dead, came out in select theaters on May 14 and will debut on Netflix May 21. He's also playing a role in the streamer's expansion of the Army of the Dead franchise, which will include a prequel film and anime series.
While promoting both the Justice League Snyder Cut and Army of the Dead, Snyder has been asked about upcoming projects. In February, the director confirmed he was developing a King Arthur movie, calling it a "faithful retelling of that Arthurian mythological concept." Snyder didn't reveal any information beyond that, as it seems the film in its very early stages. However, now the director has offered an exciting new detail about his King Arthur story.
Appearing on Playlist's The Fourth Wall podcast, Snyder spoke about his work on the movie. He took a moment to reveal it's set in the Gold Rush period of American history. Take a look at Snyder's comments on the King Arthur film below:
Right now I'm in the process of writing a kind of, basically it's just like a retelling of Excalibur, like of the Arthurian legend that's sort of set, you know, in a different place...It's kind of like in the sort of Gold Rush era of America, kind of weird Arthurian. But anyway, it's cool, and I'm really kind of into it. And its fun, and it's like, you know, it's kind of crazy.
Though it sounds like Snyder's King Arthur film is still a ways from coming to fruition, this is an exciting update from the director. The King Arthur story has been told countless times at this point, and there's always the concern that a new retelling won't add to the narrative in any meaningful way. Those concerns were amplified by Snyder's comment that his would be a "faithful retelling." Luckily, the Gold Rush era setting suggests the director's take on King Arthur will bring something completely new to the table. This is good news for both those who enjoy the King Arthur story and Snyder's past work.
It could be argued there's no one better equipped to tackle this sort of epic tale than Snyder. His work on giant movies like 300 and any of his DCEU films shows he isn't intimated by a large scale story. Like with Snyder's past movies, his King Arthur film could allow the director to put his own spin on a classic legend, introducing it to a whole new audience. Even though Snyder is still early on in the process, hopefully he provides further updates on his King Arthur movie soon.
Source: Playlist's The Fourth Wall