The Last Kingdom may have dropped its final season on Netflix, but the story of Uhtred isn’t over yet.
The streamer is planning to launch a sequel movie titled Seven Kings Must Die, which will serve as an epilogue to the completed storyline of the hit show.
News of the project came shortly after the announcement that The Last Kingdom would be ending with season 5, leaving some fans dismayed at the thought of the last three books in Bernard Cornwell’s series being unadapted.
They can now rest easy knowing that story elements from those final novels will be factored into this feature-length special, providing a satisfying send-off to what has become a career-defining role for star Alexander Dreymon.
Executive producer Nigel Marchant revealed that talks about a movie have been going on since the successful launch of The Last Kingdom’s fourth season back in April 2020.
He said: “We couldn’t be more thrilled that Netflix have allowed us to come back and shoot this movie version and to reunite with so many friends, both amongst the cast and crew.
“We started at Carnival developing the show a decade ago, we’ve been filming for eight years and just to finish it off in such a special way, we all feel very grateful that we have been allowed to do this.”
Read on for all the details we have so far on The Last Kingdom movie Seven Kings Must Die, but be warned that this article contains spoilers for the show’s recently released final season.
Seven Kings Must Die release date speculation
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There’s no confirmed release date for Seven Kings Must Die just yet, but we can make an educated guess about when the film could be released based on what we do know.
Filming on the project officially got underway in January 2022, as confirmed by star Alexander Dreymon via Instagram, with the shoot still ongoing as of March.
However, it stands to reason that production will be shorter than usual, as the crew are producing approximately two hours of content as opposed to the whopping 10-hour seasons The Last Kingdom usually has.
With that in mind, it’s not out of the question that we could see Seven Kings Must Die towards the end of this year, although the safer bet would be early 2023.
Who could be in the cast of Seven Kings Must Die?
Netflix and production company Carnival were careful not to include the full cast of Seven Kings Must Die with the initial announcement, as they did not want to give away which characters survive the events of season 5.
That said, we do know that the film will feature Alexander Dreymon back in the role of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, while another longtime cast member recently confirmed their involvement in the flick too.
In January 2022, Dreymon shared a video from the set of Seven Kings Must Die to his Instagram page to mark the start of production, where he thanks fans for their continued support of the show.
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Suddenly, co-star Arnas Fedaravičius pops into frame for a laugh, confirming that Uhtred’s loyal ally Sihtric will be involved in the story of Seven Kings Must Die.
One of Dreymon’s later Instagram posts also featured Mark Rowley, suggesting he could be reprising his role as Finan, but it’s unclear if that particular video was taken from the set of Seven Kings Must Die or season 5. Watch this space.
There are a few major players from The Last Kingdom cast that we know won’t be returning after being dramatically killed off in the final season, including Emily Cox (Brida), Millie Brady (Aethelflaed), Ewan Mitchell (Osferth) and Eysteinn Sigurðarson (Sigtryggr).
Behind the camera, we know that Seven Kings Must Die will be directed by series alum Edward Bazalgette, who has also worked on The Witcher, and that it will be written by Martha Hillier, who also penned seasons 4 and 5.
What is Seven Kings Must Die about?
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Netflix is yet to release an official synopsis for Seven Kings Must Die, but executive producer Nigel Marchant has said that the story will be inspired by the final three books in Bernard Cornwell’s series: War of the Wolf, Sword of Kings, and War Lord.
He said: “In terms of season 5, we felt these two central strands of the story were coming together and it was the natural point to finish the TV series. Over the five seasons there was a very definite beginning, middle and end so it was a group decision that we came to.
“However, we did know there were a few more books (not to spoil anything!) following on from where we get to at the end of season 5. So we did start to talk to Netflix fairly early about whether we could tell that end piece of the jigsaw so that it would feel complete. And it was felt that the movie version was the right format to do that.”
Interestingly, Marchant went on to claim that Seven Kings Must Die will be perfectly accessible to newcomers to The Last Kingdom franchise, suggesting it may not be strongly connected to the complex continuity of the series.
He added: “Season 5 does feel like the end of the TV series, and the movie will be much more stand alone. It’ll be an extra treat for the fans of the TV series, but you could also watch it even if you’ve never seen the TV show.”
Is there a trailer for Seven Kings Must Die?
Not just yet. The Last Kingdom season 5 has only recently launched on Netflix, so it’s likely the streamer will give it a bit of breathing room before pointing fans towards the next big thing.
We’ll be sure to update this page when the first footage from Seven Kings Must Die arrives.
Seven Kings Must Die is coming soon to Netflix. The Last Kingdom seasons 1-5 are streaming now. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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