The next movie from Ridley Scott, alas, isn't an Alien: Covenant follow-up. As evidenced by this fresh teaser, the filmmaker is diving into French history for his upcoming period actioner The Last Duel. Set in 14th Century France, the epic revolves around the last judicial duel to occur in the country.
20th Century Studios has dropped the first trailer for the movie which stars Matt Damon and Adam Driver as Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, two best pals whose friendship turns bitter after Carrouges' wife, played by Jodie Comer, accuses Le Gris of sexual assault.
After she accuses him, the pair opt to resolve the matter in public. But how? By having a duel. The very last, in fact, ever sanctioned by France. If Carrouges fails to beat Le Gris, his wife will face the chopping block.
By the first looks of the trailer, Scott's back on his game with cracking visuals, sat alongside some rather questionable wig choices on behalf of Affleck's character, Count Pierre d’Alençon. But still, where would the world be without meme fodder?
The Last Duel is based on the non-fiction account, The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager. Nicole Holofcener, Damon, and Ben Affleck share a co-writing credit on the screenplay. This marks the first writing collaboration for the latter pair since their Oscar-winning script for Good Will Hunting in 1997.
"This film is an effort to retell the story of a heroic woman from history whom most people haven’t heard of," said the trio of writers in a press release accompanying the trailer. "We admired her bravery and resolute determination and felt this was both a story that needed to be told and one whose drama would captivate audiences the way it moved us as writers."
Scott's upcoming projects are slated to dominate the box office later this year. The Last Duel arrives in theaters on October 15th, quickly followed by House of Gucci, starring Adam Driver and Lady Gaga, currently scheduled for release one month later on November 24. Until then, get familiar with the rest of this year's theatrical drops in our guide to 2021's upcoming movies.
