Production Starts on Joe Cornish's The Kid Who Would Be King

20th Century Fox have announced that Attack the Block director, Joe Cornish, has begun production on his first film since the critically acclaimed 2011 sci-fi comedy, with The Kid Who Would Be King.

The Kid Who Would Be King tells the story of Alex, a twelve-year-old British schoolboy whose everyday problems are dwarfed by his discovery of the mythical sword Excalibur.

Now, with the most powerful sword in history in the hands of the most powerless schoolboy in Britain, an epic adventure begins as Alex and his friends must thwart a medieval villain named Morgana, who is hell-bent on destroying the world.

Cornish has hardly been slumming it since Attack the Block, having co-written Tintin and the Secret of the Unicorn for Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, as well as finding time to occasionally appear on his former comedy collaborator, Adam Buxton’s (Hot Fuzz) ever popular podcast. He was also working with Edgar Wright on his ill-fated stint with Marvel‘s Ant-Man, so it’s nice to read that this is based on an original script by the talented Cornish.

The Kid Who Would Be King began principal photography in London on September 25, 2017.

Louis Serkis (Alice Through the Looking Glass) stars as Alex. Newcomer Dean Chaumoo plays his best friend Bedders and Tom Taylor (The Dark Tower) and Rhianna Doris (Secret Life of Boys) play Lance and Kaye, who complete Alex’s band of would-be warriors.

Angus Imrie (Kingdom) plays a young incarnation of the wizard Merlin, with Sir Patrick Stewart as the senior version. Rebecca Ferguson plays the evil Morgana.

Working Title‘s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce the film alongside Nira Park of Big Talk Pictures. Twentieth Century Fox will distribute the picture and Michael Ireland will oversee the project for the studio.