"The Green Knight" Has Been Pulled From Movie Theaters In England

Sir Gawain shan't be reaching his home country soon.

The Green Knight, A24’s much anticipated Arthurian epic fantasy film starring Dev Patel, will not be hitting theaters in the UK on August 6 as originally planned.

Eric Zachanowich / © A24 / courtesy Everett Collection

The decision was taken by UK distribution company Entertainment Film Distributors (EFD) in light of COVID-19 concerns, although the UK is witnessing a decline in the COVID cases. 

The British theaters have been asked by Entertainment Film Distributors to withdraw all trailers and posters until further notice.

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The UK removed almost all restrictions on July 19, but is seeing a surge of the more virulent and dangerous Delta variant, despite overall COVID cases in decline. The US release on July 30 shall go as planned. The movie has been a big hit with critics, and cinema goers are waiting to see what such a talented cast has brought to the screen. 

The Green Knight is just the latest in a series of British movies and series to be hit by COVID-19.

House of the Dragon @HouseofDragon

Alicent Hightower & Otto Hightower. #HouseoftheDragon

03:10 PM - 05 May 2021

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In the past few weeks, a slew of movies and TV series that are being shot in the UK have had to cease production because of COVID spreading among the crew. The major among them are HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, the second season of Bridgerton, and Netflix’s musical adaptation of Matilda.

This feature film from writer-director David Lowery is supported by a stellar cast comprising mainly of British artists.

A24

Heading the lineup are BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee Dev Patel as Sir Gawain and Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander as Esel. They are joined by Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Barry Keoghan, Sean Harris, and Kate Dickie (Lysa Arryn from Game of Thrones).

Ralph Ineson (Dagmer Cleftjaw in Game of Thrones and recently seen as Jim McAlester in Gunpowder Milkshake) stars as the titular character.

© A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

The story is based on a medieval poem titled "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight."

Eric Zachanowich / © A24 / courtesy Everett Collection

The British Library describes the poem as "the story of the young Gawain, who is a knight at the legendary court of King Arthur. The poem opens with a description of a Christmas feast at Camelot, the Arthurian court. During the feast a mysterious knight, with green hair and green skin, riding a green horse, arrives and challenges the assembled crowd to a bizarre game, which sets off a chain of events in which Gawain faces trials and temptations." 

There's a fox in the movie too. And it has a speaking role.

A24 @A24

Talking fox on-screen, "a real diva" offscreen. Dev & David tell all. #TheGreenKnight

05:39 PM - 26 Jul 2021

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One can only hope that the US release goes smoothly and the British viewers get to enjoy this masterpiece soon.

A24