Seven Kings Must Die
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''The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die'' is a 2023 British
historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...
film directed by
Edward Bazalgette The Vapors are an English new wave and power pop band formed in Guildford, active from 1978 to 1982 before reforming in 2016. They are best known for their 1980 hit single, " Turning Japanese", which reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and ...
, written by Martha Hillier, and based on ''
The Saxon Stories ''The Saxon Stories'' (also known as ''Saxon Tales''/''Saxon Chronicles'' in the US and ''The Warrior Chronicles'' and most recently as ''The Last Kingdom'' series) is a historical novel series written by Bernard Cornwell about the history of A ...
'' by
Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also writ ...
. It acts as a sequel and conclusion to ''
The Last Kingdom ''The Last Kingdom'' is the first historical novel in '' The Saxon Stories'' by Bernard Cornwell, published in 2004. This story introduces Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a Saxon noble who is kidnapped by Danish Vikings as a young child and is assim ...
'' television series. Series regulars
Alexander Dreymon Alexander Dreymon (born Alexander Doetsch; 7 February 1983) is a German actor. He is best known for portraying Uhtred of Bebbanburg in the television series ''The Last Kingdom (TV series), The Last Kingdom'' (2015–2022). Dreymon's other notable ...
,
Harry Gilby Harry Gilby (born 21 August 2001) is an English actor, best known for playing a young J. R. R. Tolkien in the film ''Tolkien'' (2019) and Æthelstan in the fifth season of '' The Last Kingdom'' (2022) and the follow-up film '' The Last Kingdom: ...
, Mark Rowley, Arnas Fedaravicius,
Cavan Clerkin Cavan Clerkin (born 1973) is a British actor and filmmaker from Hackney, London. He is known for ''The Capture'' (2019-2022), '' The Last Kingdom'' (2017-2022), ''Muscle'' (2019) and BAFTA nominated comedy '' Pulling'' (2006). He wrote, produce ...
,
James Northcote James Northcote (22 October 1746 – 13 July 1831) was a British Painting, painter. He became a member of the Royal Academy in 1787, and a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Royal Institute of the Netherlands in 1809 ...
, Ross Anderson, Ilona Chevakova, Rod Hallett, Ewan Horrocks and
Steffan Rhodri Steffan Rhodri (born 1967, in Morriston, Swansea) is a Welsh film and television actor, best known for portraying bus driver Dave Coaches in the BBC comedy series '' Gavin & Stacey''. Early and personal life Steffan Rhodri was born in 1967, i ...
reprise their respective roles. The film was released on 14 April 2023 on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
.


Plot

Anlaf, a
Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9 ...
king from
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, arrives with his army in
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
after learning that
Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
, King of the
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
, has fallen gravely ill. Edward soon dies, leaving behind three sons, none of whom were named as his aetheling. Lady Eadgifu and her son
Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...
, the youngest of the three, flee to Bebbanburg, where Edward's former ally Uhtred resides. Although retired from war, Uhtred is informed that Edward's eldest son Aethelstan will likely attack his younger brother Aelfweard and makes plans to stop him. Before Uhtred leaves, Ingrith prophesizes that "seven kings must die" before England is to be united. Uhtred reaches Aegelesburg, where Aelfweard prepares for Aethelstan's impending attack. Aethelstan and his advisor Ingilmundr soon arrive and thwart a trap set by Aelfweard. Uhtred convinces Aelfweard to surrender peacefully, but Aethelstan swiftly kills him and massacres his men. Aethelstan is crowned king of the Saxons and Ingilmundr, who is secretly Aethelstan's lover, urges him to fulfill his grandfather's dream of uniting England and all Christians. Aethelstan is convinced that this unification will, in the eyes of God, compensate for his homosexuality, which he considers a great
sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...
. In Eoferwic, Aethelstan has taken over following the death of the Northumbrian king Rǫgnvaldr and demands that all foreign kings pay him tribute or face conquest and
forced baptism Forced conversion is the adoption of a religion or irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which were originally held, wh ...
. Uhtred arrives and witnesses the destruction of
pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...
monuments, then learns that King
Hywel Dda Hywel ap Cadell, commonly known as Hywel Dda, which translates to Howel the Good in English, was a Welsh king who ruled the southern Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth and eventually came to rule most of Wales. He became the sole king of Seisyllw ...
has submitted to Aethelstan after his son was taken hostage. Uhtred then discovers Aethelstan's relationship with Ingilmundr and believes he is being deceived. Ingilmundr secretly plans to have Uhtred killed, but Aldhelm warns Uhtred, who flees back to Bebbanburg. Aldhelm is subsequently labelled a traitor by Aethelstan and hanged for his actions. Ingilmundr arrives at Bebbanburg to take the castle, but unaware that Uhtred had escaped, is quickly captured. Ingilmundr later convinces a servant to lure Uhtred into a trap, where he is captured by Aethelstan's men, forcing Osbert to surrender Bebbanburg. Osbert and Edmund are taken captive and sent to Thelwael, while Aethelstan, unable to kill Uhtred, banishes him from England. On the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, Anlaf hosts a gathering of kings with Prince Domnal and the rulers of
Strathclyde Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath
alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...
of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...
,
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
,
Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
and
Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...
, warning them of Aethelstan's impending conquest. Although they initially decline the offer of allying with a pagan, Aethelstan embarks upon an invasion of Scotland, forcing King Constantin and the other rulers to form an alliance. A weakened Uhtred is found by the Danes and taken to Shetland, where he learns that Ingilmundr is a Danish spy. He meets with Anlaf and the other kings, who ask Uhtred to assassinate Aethelstan to avoid war. Uhtred travels to Wintanceaster and fails to convince Aethelstan to stop his aggression. Uhtred then returns to Bebbanburg, only to learn from Eadgifu that Anlaf had sacked the castle, and sealed Ingrith and the commonfolk in a cave to suffocate. Ingilmundr massacres the Saxons at Thelwael, and Uhtred later arrives to discover that Osbert and Edmund had managed to stay hidden and survive. A remorseful Aethelstan makes peace with Uhtred and plans to stop Anlaf's invasion, but refuses any help. Knowing that Aethelstan will likely die, Uhtred and his allies head to face Anlaf, who has amassed his forces at Brunanburh. At the
Battle of Brunanburh The Battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937 between Æthelstan, King of Kingdom of England, England, and an alliance of Olaf Guthfrithson, King of Kingdom of Dublin, Dublin; Constantine II of Scotland, Constantine II, King of Scotland; and O ...
, Uhtred and Aethelstan's forces are heavily outnumbered and make a
tactical withdrawal A tactical withdrawal or retreating defensive action is a type of military operation, generally meaning that retreating forces draw back while maintaining contact with the enemy. A withdrawal may be undertaken as part of a general retreat, to ...
, allowing Saxon cavalry to flank from behind. In the chaos, Domnal and the heirs of the other kings are killed. After witnessing Ingilmundr attack Aethelstan, Uhtred is gravely wounded whilst attempting to aid him. In the aftermath of the battle, the other kings quickly abandon Anlaf, and a captive Ingilmundr is executed. Aethelstan helps return the gravely wounded Uhtred to Bebbanburg, and Finan concludes that the deaths of Edward and the five heirs—five kings who will never be crowned—only partially fulfill the prophecy that "seven kings must die", while Uhtred speculates that he will be the seventh. Uhtred agrees to swear Northumbria to Aethelstan in exchange for him agreeing to make Edmund his sole heir, making Aethelstan the first king of a united England, fulfilling the dream of his grandfather, King
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...
. Seemingly on the verge of death, Uhtred experiences a vision of
Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...
, where he sees several of his deceased allies waiting for him.


Cast

Zoltan Andrasi portrays a Saxon lookout and Juhász Vince and Dániel Brezovszky portray a pair of teenage mercenaries. Zsolt Pall, Attila Árpa and Laurent Winkler portray the kings of
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
,
Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...
and
Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...
respectively while Balogh Domokos, Kolos András Takács, Dániel Hernádi and Gábor Turtsányi portray the sons of the kings of Strathclyde, Orkney, Shetland and Man. Several actors also reprise their roles from ''The Last Kingdom'' as they feast together in
Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla ( , ; , )Orchard (1997:171–172) is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. There were five possible realms the soul could travel to after death. The first was Fólkvang ...
: Emily Cox as Brida, Uhtred's childhood friend-turned-adversary; Jeppe Beck Laursen as
Haesten Hastein (Old Norse: ''Hásteinn'', also recorded as ''Hastingus'', ''Anstign'', ''Haesten'', ''Hæsten'', ''Hæstenn'' or ''Hæsting'' and alias ''Alsting''Jones, Aled (2003). ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Sixth Series'' Cambridge ...
, a Danish warlord previously at odds with the Kings of Wessex and Mercia;
Magnus Samuelsson Magnus Samuelsson (born December 21, 1969), is a Sweden, Swedish actor, former Strongman and the 1998 World's Strongest Man. Known as the 'king of the stones', he made it to the World's Strongest Man podium 5 times and the finals 10 times. The ...
as Clapa, a fearless warrior who once served Uhtred; and
Peter Gantzler Peter Gantzler is a Danish actor. He is perhaps best known for his parts in ''Taxa'' and '' Italian for Beginners''. Early life and education Peter Gantzler originally studied Danish at the University of Copenhagen, but changed to the Danish N ...
as Earl Ragnar; Uhtred's foster father and a Danish warlord.


Production

Producer Nigel Marchant revealed that talks about a movie had been proceeding following the launch of ''The Last Kingdom's'' fourth season in April 2020. In October 2021, prior to the fifth season of ''The Last Kingdom'' being released on Netflix in early 2022, the feature-length sequel to the series was announced at the
MCM London Comic Con The MCM Comic Con London (formerly known as the London Movies, Comics, and Media Expo, London MCM Expo, and MCM London Comic Con) is a speculative fiction fan convention held at ExCeL London, ExCel London twice yearly since 2002, usually on th ...
by Dreymon, who acted as executive producer as well as starring as Uhtred on the show. It was given the working title ''Seven Kings Must Die'' and would follow events of the series which took place over a circa-45-year period of history from 866 onwards focusing on the Kingdom of Wessex and ongoing Viking incursions into England. The screenplay for ''Seven Kings Must Die'' was written by Martha Hillier with direction by Ed Bazalgette and production by Marchant, Gareth Neame and Mat Chaplin. Alongside Dreymon, Hillier also served as executive producer. It was produced by
Carnival Films Carnival Film & Television Limited, trading as Carnival Films, is a British production company based in London, UK, founded in 1978. It has produced television series for all the major UK networks including the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Chann ...
and distributed worldwide by NBCUniversal International Distribution.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
began in Budapest in January 2022, and wrapped by the end of March 2022. Several characters portrayed by series regulars on ''The Last Kingdom'' were cut from the film during production which included Lady Aelswith (
Eliza Butterworth Eliza Butterworth (born 24 July 1993) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Lady Ealhswith, Aelswith in the medieval drama ''The Last Kingdom (TV series), The Last Kingdom'' (2015–2022). She has since appeared in the BBC Two ...
),
King Edward King Edward may refer to: Monarchs of England and the United Kingdom * Edward the Elder (–924) * Edward the Martyr (–978) * Edward the Confessor (–1066) * Edward I of England (1239–1307) * Edward II of England (1284–1327) * Edward III o ...
(
Timothy Innes Timothy Jacob A. Innes (born 1 November 1993) is an English actor. On television, he is known for his role in the Netflix medieval drama ''The Last Kingdom'' (2018–2022). Early life Innes was born in Crawley, West Sussex. He attended St Wilfr ...
), Lady Aelfwynn (
Phia Saban Sophia Alison M. "Phia" Boreham Saban (born 19 September 1998) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in the fifth series of the Netflix medieval drama '' The Last Kingdom'' (2022) and the HBO fantasy series ''House of the Dragon'' (20 ...
), Cynlaef (Ryan Quarmby) and Uhtred's elder children Stiorra ( Ruby Hartley) and Young Uhtred (Finn Elliot) due to the condensed running time from the change in format. Screenwriter Martha Hillier stated that "It was heartbreaking..." she began. "But we only really had a certain amount of real estate and we couldn't service all the characters. It's a much more single protagonist story".


Release

The film was released on 14 April 2023, by
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
.


Reception


Audience viewership

Globally, ''The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die'' debuted at number one on Netflix's Top 10 Film English titles for the tracking week of 10–16 April 2023 with 35.5 million hours viewed. On the following week, it remained at number one and garnered 25.7 million viewing hours. In the United Kingdom, the film debuted at number two for the first tracking week, and moved down one spot to number three on the following week. In the United States, according to
Whip Media Whip Media Group is a private American company selling enterprise software for Digital distribution, content distribution, as well as TV- and film-related user data. It operates physical offices in the US, the UK, and the EU. Background Whip Med ...
's
TV Time TV Time (formerly TVShow Time) is a tracking platform and social television network for TV and movies, available in app and desktop forms. Using TheTVDB as a data source, it allows users to store information about their media consumption and l ...
, it was the most streamed film across all platforms during the week of 16 April 2023.


Critical response

On the
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film holds an
approval rating An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of que ...
of 82%, based on 17 critic reviews with an average rating of 7.1/10.
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which uses a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
, assigned a score of 48 out of 100, based on 6 reviews indicating "mixed or average reviews". Leslie Felperin in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' said that the film has "a ton of plot crammed tightly into the running time", but that the director "Edward Bazalgette manages the storytelling efficiently". Jo Berry in
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
described a "beautifully filmed action adventure with a watchable lead in Alexander Dreymon". Catharine Bray for ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' praised Pekka Strang in his role of the Danish warrior King Anlaf whilst saying it is "probably not a film that will engage too many people outside the show's existing fanbase" but that it "is most interesting, however, is in its approach to religion, sexuality and culture" and the blending of peoples, beliefs and values similar to the modern day.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die 2023 films British English-language television shows Netflix original films Films based on British novels Films based on television series Films set in the 10th century Films set in the Middle Ages Films shot in Hungary Films set in Europe Films set in the Viking Age Sequel films to television series The Saxon Stories