Since paying $2 million for the script for Arthur & Lancelot (nice work if you can get it), Warner Bros. is making big moves for their contemporary retelling of Arthurian legends, as reported in Deadline.
Already attached to the project is Lionel Wigram, the producer of Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter since “Order of the Phoenix,” and David Dorkin (Wedding Crashers, The Change-Up) is set to direct and produce. Arthur & Lancelot has been penciled for a March 15, 2013 release date and going to have a $90 million budget. There is no word yet on casting.
Because of Warner Bros. moving forward with this movie, it has effectively ended that studio’s other sword and sorcery projects, Bryan Singler’s remake of Excalibur and Guy Ritchie’s take on King Arthur with Trainspotting writer John Hodge.
On television the BBC’s family friendly version Merlin is currently filming a fourth series, but Starz’s adult retelling, Camelot, has been canned after one season.
The legends of King Arthur have always been popular, focusing on noble ideas of justice, chivalry and good kingship. Plus it is in the Public Domain, so studios don‘t have to pay a thing. But I've got a feeling this version is still not going to show King Arthur fathering a child with his half-sister.