As Ridley Scott starts the cameras rolling on his latest film, The Last Duel, he's adding another key cast member. Harriet Walter is joining an ensemble that already includes Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer.
The Last Duel, adapted from Eric Jager's book The Last Duel: A True Story Of Trial By Combat In Medieval France, by Affleck, Damon and Nicole Holofcener, follows 14th century knights Jean de Carrouges (Damon) and the squire Jacques Le Gris (Driver), who used to be friends. One goes to war and returns to accuse Le Gris of raping his wife, Margerite de Carrouges (Comer). No one will believe the woman, and the soldier appeals to the king of France to undo a decision handed down by Count Pierre d’Anencon, which favored Le Gris. The decision handed down is that the two men fight a duel to the death. The one left alive would be declared the winner as a sign of God’s will. And if Jean de Carrouges loses, his wife will be burned at the stake for punishment for her false accusation...
The story has been met with some backlash, representing yet another plot featuring of a woman under threat so a man must take action. That isn't deterring Scott and co., and Walter is now on to play de Carrouges' mother. It'll mark something of a reunion for Walter and Comer, as the former will be seen in series 3 of Killing Eve, which arrives on Stateside screens in April.
The Last Duel, which began life as a 20th Century Fox film and will be released by Disney under its rebranded 20th Century Studios, is set to shooting in France and Ireland and will be out in the US on Christmas Day, with other countries following beginning 8 January next year.