Once again we see the legendary king in action in this movie directed by Guy Ritchie (“Snatch”, Sherlock Holmes“, “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”).
There are few legends which have entertained us throughout history as the story about King Arthur has. Historians are to this day arguing whether the historic leader of Britain in the late 5th and early 6th centuries is a work of fiction or if he actually existed.
Today, we can find reference to the legend nearly anywhere. In music we have “Kamelot”, an American power-metal band which as the name applies base a lot of their work around the legend as well as “Blind Guardian”, a German metal-band which has a fantasy-based theme around most their work, a large part being from the Arthurian legends.
In books and movies we often see Mordred, the notorious traitor, being referenced to when depicting evil. We see a character named Mordred in the “The Dark Tower” series by Stephen King and he is also present in the lowest circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno from the 14th poem “Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri.
Gaming might be the media which fetches most of their ideas from the Arthurian legend. Although titles has been released which focuses strictly on the tales of Arthur, such as “King Arthur – The Role Playing Wargame” in 2009, the references ranging from quite subtle ones to very obvious are in a huge number of titles of mainstream games. Often the references are about the legendary sword – “Excalibur”.
In the immensely successful Japanese game “Fate/Stay Night” we see King Arthur depicted as a female warrior wielding the fabled sword. “In Tomb Raider: Legend” we get to follow Laura Croft on a quest to restore Excalibur after discovering King Arthur’s tomb.
Other than videogames, there are slots and casino games that take influence from the stories as well. If you’re playing live casino at Winningroom you’ll soon encounter a game called “Excalibur” with most of the iconic characters from the legends being featured.
In nearly any big MMORPG-game you’re bound to find references to Merlin, King Arthur and Excalibur, such as the sword “X’caliboar” from the most successful MMORPG every made – World of Warcraft.
While Guy Ritchie’s latest cinema spin on the legend, which stars Charlie Hunnam as Arthur and Jude Law as Vortigern, is currently receiving mixed reviews the legend’s enduring appeal suggests this won’t be the last film about history’s most storied king.